Abstract

Rarely does so much change so rapidly as during the post-socialist system transformation that occurred between 1989 and the present time. For the 10 East Central European countries already belonging to the European Union (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), many claim that the transformation has already succeeded because the region has institutionally matured to become a fully fledged market economy. Others, however, argue that there is still a long way to go.