ABSTRACT
The relationship between the European Community and the less developed countries of the Third World can only be described and evaluated relative to a theoretical model that gives a baseline for whether the policy is good or bad. Penetration into the elites of former colonial dependencies will usually be based on two factors: ideological identification with the elites of the European Community and dependency on a continued relation with them. It has become clear in Eastern Europe that although socialism has meant an end to the Western imperialistic penetration of earlier periods, the system has not solved the problem of general participation, or the general problem of vertical division of labor. The European Community has a cumbersome decision-process which makes it more difficult to change rules and procedures — although it must also be admitted that once they are changed, they affect more countries.
