Foreword by Development Commissioner, Mr. Andris Piebalgs
In the last two decades, Central and Eastern European countries have experienced fundamental changes in their political and economic regimes as a consequence of the fall of the former Soviet block. The world witnessed a dual transition process from communist rule towards western-like democracy and from centrally-planned socialist economy to market economy in these countries. These changes involved fundamental transformations of virtually every aspect of each country’s political, economic and social life.
The fall of the communist system has resulted in roughly the same challenges for all these countries, but its concrete resolution has been specific for each one of them, given the internal differences in their respective political regimes, economic systems and social settings, on one side, and the diverse relationship with the hegemonic power and the Soviet Communist Party on the other. Historical, social, political and economic diversity in Eastern and Central European countries at the beginning of their transition, together with their respective capacity for reforms have deeply influenced the way and the extent of this transition process.
Although the intense political, social and economic modernization in these countries would have occurred anyway, the EU enlargement process has contributed to it by accelerating the transition and by reducing costs. The integration of these countries into the European Union represents the consolidation of a democratic setting as well as the definitive political norm build on the principles of the Europeanism – good governance, pax perpetua and people welfare. Through this integration, political leaders reaffirm their faith in those political and social values refused by the previous regimes.
The 12 Member States that joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 possess a wealth of knowledge in managing these long, complex processes. Although each country-specific context makes individual transition processes particular, it is nevertheless possible to identify a number of features common to all of them.
The experiences of these countries during their transition – including their expertise in the use of foreign assistance in support of such a difficult process – are source of inspiration and present a great interest and utility for other countries and regions benefiting from the EU’s assistance and cooperation programmes. This experience and the examples of good practices in many fields are particularly pertinent in the case of countries sharing a similar starting point, cultural or historic linkages or a similar objective to join the EU or to come closer to it. It is worth noting that several aspects of these transitions can be relevant to any other developing country.
This Database on European Transition offers invaluable support to daily work of policy-makers and a transparent and easy-to-use source of information for all actors in the field of development cooperation with a particular interest in transition experience. It will serve as well general information purposes for academics and the general public interested in or wishing to collect data on European Union Member States transition experience.
I hope this new tool could contribute to disseminating democratic values all over the world and I encourage all of you to take the maximum advantage of this thesaurus of knowledge.
Andris Piebalgs
The fall of the communist system has resulted in roughly the same challenges for all these countries, but its concrete resolution has been specific for each one of them, given the internal differences in their respective political regimes, economic systems and social settings, on one side, and the diverse relationship with the hegemonic power and the Soviet Communist Party on the other. Historical, social, political and economic diversity in Eastern and Central European countries at the beginning of their transition, together with their respective capacity for reforms have deeply influenced the way and the extent of this transition process.
Although the intense political, social and economic modernization in these countries would have occurred anyway, the EU enlargement process has contributed to it by accelerating the transition and by reducing costs. The integration of these countries into the European Union represents the consolidation of a democratic setting as well as the definitive political norm build on the principles of the Europeanism – good governance, pax perpetua and people welfare. Through this integration, political leaders reaffirm their faith in those political and social values refused by the previous regimes.
The 12 Member States that joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 possess a wealth of knowledge in managing these long, complex processes. Although each country-specific context makes individual transition processes particular, it is nevertheless possible to identify a number of features common to all of them.
The experiences of these countries during their transition – including their expertise in the use of foreign assistance in support of such a difficult process – are source of inspiration and present a great interest and utility for other countries and regions benefiting from the EU’s assistance and cooperation programmes. This experience and the examples of good practices in many fields are particularly pertinent in the case of countries sharing a similar starting point, cultural or historic linkages or a similar objective to join the EU or to come closer to it. It is worth noting that several aspects of these transitions can be relevant to any other developing country.
This Database on European Transition offers invaluable support to daily work of policy-makers and a transparent and easy-to-use source of information for all actors in the field of development cooperation with a particular interest in transition experience. It will serve as well general information purposes for academics and the general public interested in or wishing to collect data on European Union Member States transition experience.
I hope this new tool could contribute to disseminating democratic values all over the world and I encourage all of you to take the maximum advantage of this thesaurus of knowledge.
Andris Piebalgs
