ABSTRACT
As debates in the Warsaw Pact political structures became more open and critical in the Gorbachev era, the agenda began to expand on new areas and topics. Compared to the past, member-state officials also pointed to existing dysfunctionalities more often, including the Warsaw Pact lagging in the field of economic cooperation. In the second half of the 1980s, intensification of cooperation among Eastern Bloc countries under the aegis of the alliance was considered, but its outcome was often at least contradictory. The discussion on economic cooperation showed how difficult it was to find issues which would become a new cohesive element for the Warsaw Pact. The interest in strengthening economic cooperation was expressed by basically all member states, but the practical implementation collided with their different viewpoints and encountered even real obstacles. The problematic establishment of a new unifying agenda then sharply contrasted with the influx of problems, which, on the contrary, weakened the cohesion of the Warsaw Pact very quickly.
