Changing Perceptions

Over the last twelve years there has been a growing differen-tiation among transition economies. 1 Economic systems and economic performance in Central and South Eastern Europe today are much more heterogeneous than in 1989, or even five years ago. Some countries have progressed faster and gone further towards a market economy than others. Twelve years on, some countries are approaching the finishing line and are about to join the EU; a few are barely off the starting point; others are somewhere in between, at various points along the track. Whereas in 1989, socialist coun-tries from Eastern Europe had many features in common, today we can distinguish at least four distinct groups, primarily on the basis of their status vis-à-vis the EU: • the eight countries in Central Eastern Europe (the three Baltic states