Integration in Central Europe -- Experience and Prospects

Political transformations, which took place in the former socialist countries after 1989, caused that the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary came to be treated as "Central Europe." This paper aims at presenting this process in a historical approach and assessing whether these countries - apart from their geographical location - are linked by still something else, which would allow to distinguish a new geo-political entity in relation to the neighbouring countries and analyse the next area of sub-regional integration on the continent of Europe.This paper was presented at the 16th International Conference of the International Trade and Finance Association in Lodz, Poland, May 10-13, 2006.