ABSTRACT
Although transformation has ended, the problems of post-transformation societies continue. Entrance to the European Union was a major milestone in the progress of societies that were once Communist – but it is not the end of the journey. New EU member states do not need foreigners to tell them that there is a need to improve standards of governance and to make up for the economic growth and much else that was lost under Communism. However, the population resources and the geographical location of these Central and East European states means that independence is not the same as being able to ignore neighbouring countries. All 10 must adapt to being a part of a new system of interdependence in which the focal point is not Moscow but Brussels.
