tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27932062.post5476520470132677307..comments2007-01-30T18:12:51.972ZCentre for European Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06815454225955436329noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27932062.post-53984812708064811522007-01-30T18:12:00.000Z2007-01-30T18:12:00.000ZIf Central European economies were compared to the EU's best performers the picture would be far from rosy. <br />The political turmoil in the Visegrad countries seems to prove that the prospect of EU accession was basically the one thing uniting these countries' political elites on their way toward modernization. Since accession became a reality, consensus on the ways and means of carrying out reform became in most cases a mere wish.<br />The need for serious sectoral reforms finds these countries at a time when there is no longer a strong incentive (such as EU membership) that would require or urge political consensus. The political will to carry out reforms in health care, education system, pensions, etc. would need strong governments and constructive opposition forces, who may differ on the means, but not on the ends. All four Visegrad countries political elites seem to be lacking this kind of approach. While adherence to the Maastricht criteria forces fiscal discipline on these countries, in most cases it also provides ground for attacks from the opposition. <br />So, the question is how long it will take for these countries to realize that EU membership was not the end of a process, but the beginning; and how long it will take for them to modernize their economies, to carry out the much-procrastinated reform in key sectors that will result in making them competitive on a global scale.Hungarian voicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27932062.post-68392952397157635172007-01-26T15:01:00.000Z2007-01-26T15:01:00.000ZAbsolutely agree with the author! Even more, such benchmarking creates political backlash in the most of so called Old European capitals. <br /><br />If one follows latest articles about new members in the Economist, Le Monde, FAZ and Helsingin Sanomat, then single diagnosis comes out from there, Eastern Europe - political turmoil due to the fledling political culture!<br /><br />Indeed, political cultures were and are still different, but the very EU membership cleans corrupt administrations, makes the policy debate transparent or to put it another way - it converges the political culture of East and West Europe due to the Europeanization process!Baltichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136925332059803186noreply@blogger.com