Central Europe and new links. Note that routeway VII is the Danube and its link with the Rhine. The other routes include both road and rail

Sweden in the north, Russia in the east and the Ottoman Empire in the south. The countries are now settling down to complete political independence, while at the same time switching economic links and transactions from the former Soviet Union to Western Europe. In due course the advantages and disadvantages of the countries of the region will become more evident in the new competitive world of Europe and Russia, with more affluent neighbours to emulate in the EU and more abundant natural resources in the Russian Federation, now less accessible than in Soviet times.