Introduction

For a quarter of a century from 1989 Central and Eastern Europe has experienced drastic changes like diastrophism. In the second half of 1989 a series of system changes occurred in Eastern Europe. Except for the former Yugoslavia and Albania, all East European countries were under the influence of the Soviet Union for a long time. The Baltic States were incorporated into the Soviet Union for about a half century from 1940 through 1991. Small countries were not active entities in world politics and economy for a long time. The end of the Cold War and the ongoing globalization give small countries opportunities. With the system change, most of East European countries as well as the Baltic States started their autonomous development. The former Yugoslavia, which pursued a unique way of self-managed socialism, disintegrated in 1991, resulting in six independent countries with fierce ethnic conflicts. Albania, which had been isolated internationally, also started the transition to a market economy in 1991. Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) aspired to “return to Europe”, in other words, membership of the EC (later, the EU). Eight post-communist countries were admitted to the EU in 2004, and Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007. In addition, Croatia, from the Western Balkans, was admitted to the EU in 2013, and the remaining Western Balkan countries are expected to join the EU in five to 10 years…