Falcetti, Elisabetta; Sanfey, Peter; Tepic, Sladjan --- "South-East Europe: opportunities and potential for investment and growth" [2005] ELECD 379; in Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris (eds), "European Economic Integration and South-East Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: European Economic Integration and South-East Europe

Editor(s): Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845425173

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: South-East Europe: opportunities and potential for investment and growth

Author(s): Falcetti, Elisabetta; Sanfey, Peter; Tepic, Sladjan

Number of pages: 16

Extract:

4. South-East Europe: opportunities
and potential for investment
and growth1
Elisabetta Falcetti, Peter Sanfey
and Sladjana Tepic

1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

The year 2004 is a significant landmark in the transition process. Not only
does it mark the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it is also
the year when eight countries of Central Europe and the Baltics (CEB)
joined the European Union (EU).2 For these countries, the transition to a
market economy is not yet over, but full EU membership is a clear sign that
many of the difficulties and hurdles associated with transition have been
successfully overcome. Can this success be replicated in another part of the
transition region ­ South-East Europe (SEE) ­ where the next wave of
accession is expected in the coming years?
This chapter examines the prospects for eight transition countries in SEE:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia,
Moldova, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro. We argue that these
countries have the potential over the medium-term to grow rapidly and to
become an increasingly attractive investment destination in the run-up to
further EU expansion. This chapter outlines several reasons for cautious
optimism about the future of SEE. Overall, our judgement is based on the
clear and unmistakeable progress that the region has made since the late
1990s. Notwithstanding difficulties and occasional setbacks, it is now a
region of opportunity and potential.
Some of the recent progress in SEE has been remarkable. Politically,
the most ...