Central and Eastern European countries
Central and Eastern European Countries ( MOEL ), also Central / Eastern Europe ( MOE ), stands for the synonymous term Central and Eastern European States ( MOES ). The English expression is CEE for English Central and Eastern Europe , the French PECO for French Pays d'Europe centrale et orientale . The EU statistical term Central and Eastern European Countries (CEC or CEEC) is largely identical.
Which countries actually belong to the Central and Eastern European countries is not clearly delineated. In a narrower sense, the term is used for those countries that were accepted into the European Union as part of the EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 ( EU-12 ), or for those states of the Western Balkans that are in the process of enlargement. The greater region of East Central Europe, which is also vaguely delimited, is part of the CEEC.
Concept history
Eastern bloc / Eastern Europe
Until 1989, the term Eastern Bloc was mostly used in Western Europe to designate those states of Central and Eastern Europe that were under the influence of the Soviet Union and that described themselves as socialist . After the fall of the Iron Curtain and the peaceful upheavals of 1989/90, however, a new term was sought for the states in this region. The originally widespread term Eastern Europe is incorrect in the geographical and historical sense, but is still used in the political sense. The designation Central and Eastern European countries was also intended to signal that most of these countries have long been at the core of European culture.
Central / Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe
The term Central / Eastern Europe , Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is also widely used in contexts such as cooperation between governments and their organizations, development organizations and commercial companies.
Historical cultural region
By Christian Giordano and other scientists one of the six is the historical regions of Europe "Central Europe" called. The greater area, which mainly includes the Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, has long been the raw material supplier for northwestern Europe. Emerging characteristics are refeudalization , connected with serfdom and a latifundia economy.
CEEC countries
In a narrow sense
The countries belonging to the CEEC are:
- Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania (the Baltic States, all joining the EU in 2004)
- Hungary , the Czech Republic , Slovakia and Poland (the Visegrád Group , joined in 2004)
- Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kosovo , Croatia , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Serbia and Slovenia (in some cases already acceded to the EU or in the current enlargement process)
- Bulgaria and Romania (joined in 2007)
The following are not usually included in the CEEC in the narrower sense:
- those countries of Central Europe that belonged to the western sphere of influence before 1989
- formerly the German Democratic Republic associated eastern countries
- the successor states of the Soviet Union in Europe - with the exception of the Baltic states
- Malta and Cyprus, which were also included in the 2004 EU enlargement
In a broader sense
Occasionally the term “Central and Eastern European States” is also used for the entire continental Europe east of the EU borders before the EU's eastward expansion .
The CEEC countries in the broader sense therefore also include :
- Ukraine
- Belarus
- Moldova
- Russia
- as well as Kazakhstan on Europe's eastern borders
The CEEC in the broader sense have a total area of around 18,771,000 km² (of which Russia alone around 17 million km²) and a population of 313.5 million (of which Russia 144 million).
Individual evidence
- ↑ : Interdependent Diversity: The Historic Regions of Europe. In: Karl Kaser u. a. (Ed.): Europe and the borders in the head , Wieser-Verlag, Klagenfurt 2003, pp. 113-134.