Western Approaches to Eastern Europe

Authors: James F. Brown, Robert D. Hormats, William H. Luers, Ivo J. Lederer

Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations, 1992

ISBN 0876091303, 9780876091302

107 pages

As early as the spring of 1990, barely a few months after the Czechoslovak "velvet" revolution, a Prague daily newspaper was already registering an unease that was felt throughout Eastern Europe: "The Revolution euphoria is fading fast. The public is beginning to ask - what now?" Now, at the end of 1991, the "Revolution euphoria" has disappeared completely. The exhilaration and sense of purpose of 1989 has been replaced by impatience, anxiety, even disillusion. This essay is an attempt to analyze the reasons for this dramatic change of mood, to put developments in the Eastern European states in perspective, and to describe the most significant external factors affecting their present and their future.

All the Soviet Union's erstwhile satellites - even Romania, the slowest and least sure - have moved definitively away from communism. But the touchstone of progress has long since become not moving away from communism, but moving toward democracy. The goal of a Western-type liberal democracy had looked relatively simple as communism was being overturned, but in the following months the Eastern Europeans were to learn how difficult and apparently thankless their chosen task was to be.

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Slovenia

Author: OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, SourceOECD (Online service)

Edition: illustrated

Publisher: OECD Publishing, 2002

ISBN 9264196978, 9789264196971

148 pages

Slovenia became eligible for adherence to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises on 20 December 2001. This Declaration promotes national treatment of foreign direct investment, encourages voluntary standards of behavior to multinational enterprises and encourages moderation and restrant in the use of investment incentives and conflicting regulatory requirements.

The OECD has invited Slovenia to join the Declaration in view of the liberal orientation of Slovenia's policies, notably as regards foreign direct investment (FDI). Since it declared its independence in 1991, Slovenia has made impressive progress in developing and implementing policies for its transition to a market economy and preparing for EU accession. The encouragement of FDI is a central element of Slovenia's current internationalisation strategy. It is crucial to the success of privatisation of the financial and utilities sectors currently underway. Slovenia has a strategic position between established European markets and developing former Yugoslav economies. Its knowledge of these markets make it a competitive platform for investment into its region.

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