Central and Eastern Europe
Encyclopedia
Central and Eastern Europe is a term describing former communist state
s in Europe
, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain
in 1989/90. In scholarly literature the abbreviations CEE or CEEC are often used for this concept. CEE includes all the Eastern bloc
countries west of the post-World War II
border with the former Soviet Union, the independent states in former Yugoslavia (which were not considered part of the Eastern bloc), and the three Baltic states
— Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
— that chose not to join the CIS
with the other 12 former republics of the USSR. The transition countries
in Europe and Central Asia are thus classified today into two political-economic entities: CEE and CIS
. The CEE countries are further subdivided by their accession status to the European Union
(EU): the eight first-wave accession countries that joined the EU in May 2004 (Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Poland
, Czech Republic
, Slovakia
, Hungary
, and Slovenia
) and the two second-wave accession countries that joined in January 2007 (Romania
and Bulgaria
). According to the World Bank
, "the transition is over" for the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007.
CEE includes the following former socialist countries, which extend east from the border of Germany and south from the Baltic Sea to the border with Greece: - member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
(Eastern part) - member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
- member of the European Union
Other former Communist countries in Europe — Belarus
, Ukraine
, Moldova
, and Russia
— are members of CIS
and are not included in CEE. The term Central and Eastern Europe (with its abbreviation CEE) has by now displaced the alternative term East-Central Europe
in the context of transition countries
, mainly because the abbreviation ECE is ambiguous: it commonly stands for Economic Commission for Europe rather than East-Central Europe.
Discount stores are the most popular grocery shopping venues among 16% of households in the CEE region. Discounters are not present among the main shopping venues in Bulgaria and Serbia, where small stores and other retail formats are the absolute leaders in terms of food shopping (53% and 60% respectively).
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
in 1989/90. In scholarly literature the abbreviations CEE or CEEC are often used for this concept. CEE includes all the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries west of the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
border with the former Soviet Union, the independent states in former Yugoslavia (which were not considered part of the Eastern bloc), and the three Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
— Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
— that chose not to join the CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
with the other 12 former republics of the USSR. The transition countries
Transition economy
A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from a centrally planned economy to a free market. Transition economies undergo economic liberalization, where market forces set prices rather than a central planning organization and trade barriers are removed,...
in Europe and Central Asia are thus classified today into two political-economic entities: CEE and CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
. The CEE countries are further subdivided by their accession status to the European Union
Enlargement of the European Union
The Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952...
(EU): the eight first-wave accession countries that joined the EU in May 2004 (Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
) and the two second-wave accession countries that joined in January 2007 (Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
). According to the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, "the transition is over" for the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007.
CEE includes the following former socialist countries, which extend east from the border of Germany and south from the Baltic Sea to the border with Greece: - member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(Eastern part) - member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
- member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Other former Communist countries in Europe — Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
— are members of CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
and are not included in CEE. The term Central and Eastern Europe (with its abbreviation CEE) has by now displaced the alternative term East-Central Europe
East-Central Europe
East-Central Europe – a term defining the countries located between German-speaking countries and Russia. Those lands are described as situated “between two”: between two worlds, between two stages, between two futures...
in the context of transition countries
Transition economy
A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from a centrally planned economy to a free market. Transition economies undergo economic liberalization, where market forces set prices rather than a central planning organization and trade barriers are removed,...
, mainly because the abbreviation ECE is ambiguous: it commonly stands for Economic Commission for Europe rather than East-Central Europe.
IT and Telecommunication Market in CEE
CEE countries are near to the bottom of the rankings for most Information Society indicators, such as e-governance, e-business or e-commerce. In 2009, the highest percentage of basic public services available online for citizens was in Hungary, remaining slightly below the European average. The biggest proportion of public services fully available online for enterprises was in the Czech Republic (100%), Poland (88%) and Slovakia (88%). Usage of e-government services was the most popular among Slovakians, as almost one in three citizens used it in 2009 and among Poles, where one in four inhabitants was a user of e-government services.Retailers
In all the countries, the sector of small retailers was hit the hardest by the unfavourable economic climate and reduced consumer spending accompanying the higher unemployment. For example, in Romania and Hungary, the total value of sales in small groceries dropped by around 10% y-o-y in 2009. As a result, only the convenience stores and these of the chains, cooperating in the networks outlets, managed to demonstrate the positive development. In addition, the hypermarket segment also faced poorer results than in 2008, as customers often turned their attention to discount stores, which offered cheaper products.Hypermarkets
The total share of the hypermarket segment in the whole CE region achieved nearly 20% in 2009 and they are the largest among modern retail channels, providing revenues around one-fourth higher than the second-place supermarkets. The leading retailer on the Central European hypermarket segment is the British Tesco, which is a front-runner in all the countries but Romania, with Carrefour being the leader on this market. The segment, although possessing the highest share of the market, was significantly impacted by the economic downturn and the customers spending less on the non-food range and trying to rationalise their shopping habits. As a result, its size calculated in euros decreased in 2009, by nearly 9%.Discount stores are the most popular grocery shopping venues among 16% of households in the CEE region. Discounters are not present among the main shopping venues in Bulgaria and Serbia, where small stores and other retail formats are the absolute leaders in terms of food shopping (53% and 60% respectively).
See also
- East-Central EuropeEast-Central EuropeEast-Central Europe – a term defining the countries located between German-speaking countries and Russia. Those lands are described as situated “between two”: between two worlds, between two stages, between two futures...
- Central EuropeCentral EuropeCentral Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
- Eastern EuropeEastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
- Central and Eastern European Online LibraryCentral and Eastern European Online LibraryThe Central and Eastern European Online Library is an online archive providing access to full text articles from humanities and social science scholarly journals on Central, Eastern and South Eastern European topics....