Introduction

Abstract

Since the collapse of communist party rule in East Central and Eastern Europe more than twenty years ago, eight post-communist states from East Central Europe and the Baltics have been recognised as countries that have progressed fairly well in post-communist democratisation and economic marketisation and were awarded European Union (EU) membership in 2004. By contrast, the remaining post-communist European states still struggle in implementing transitional reforms and merely hope for a better future. Partial exceptions in this regard are the three latest entrants into the EU: Bulgaria and Romania, which joined in 2007, and Croatia, the most recent EU member as of 2013. The post-communist experience of all these states strongly confirms the remarkable correlation between progress in accession into the EU and progress in post-communist socio-political and economic reforms. Romania and Bulgaria have considerably accelerated reform processes since pro-European and pro-reformist parties came to power in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Croatia joined them after its nationalist authoritarian leader Tudjman died in 1999 and it succeeded in subsequently improving its political and economic relations with the West and the EU.