The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was considered the ultimate reference for the end of the Old Order World Cup and the bipolarization in two very different sociopolitical systems, socialism and the capitalism. In a way, Eastern Europe already showed signs of change, with a gradual move away from the Soviet empire and imminent democratization and economic opening. Those closer to Western Europe found it easier to start their projects for political transition, in theory due to the influence of the countries of the capitalist bloc and the demands of their populations. This geographic proximity favored the reception of productive investments and integration with the European Union, shortly thereafter. In addition to the unification of Germany, we can identify in this group Poland and Czechoslovakia, which ended up being fragmented into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the early 1990s.
Eastern European countries found in the European Union expansion project that took place in the 2000s the most forceful path to achieve the structural modernization that so much they were looking for. The expectation was to promote the appreciation of economic potential and increase the production of wealth. The European Union had a huge interest in the participation of countries that belonged to the socialist bloc to foster new consumer markets and migration of labor, even as an alternative to the immigration of individuals from other continents, which were not always well liked due to the latent xenophobia in region. For all these reasons, the year 2004 was marked by the entry into the bloc of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The set of rules known as Schengen Agreement was created by the European bloc in 1985 and provided the free movement of people between member countries, producing a geographical area which was defined as the Schengen Area, where the European citizen of the signatory countries is allowed to obtain the facilities of displacement. In 2009, when the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, new immigration policies were also determined. and other institutional contributions for the planning of all items related to the displacement of people.
Poland
Poland ended its socialism in 1989. The Solidarity union was responsible for the social and political mobilization, which intensified its actions towards the capitalist regime. One of the founders of Solidarity, Lech Walesa, was democratically elected president in 1990. The country, which at the beginning of the Cold War hosted the signing of the Warsaw Pact agreement, joined NATO, the US military bloc, in 1999. On the economic front, the country went through the so-called "shock therapy", which basically consisted of an end from planning to drastic economic opening, which at first impoverished the population and increased the unemployment. But shortly thereafter, many small and medium-sized companies began to grow rapidly, attracting investments to the Polish territory. Since joining the European Union in 2004, the country has accumulated economic development. Even with the global economic crisis, the country maintained good growth rates, being the only country in the bloc that did not has gone through no period of recession in recent years, which qualifies it as a strong candidate to adopt the euro in the coming years. years old.
Polish nationalism vis-à-vis Germans has been declining since German reunification in 1990, which is very important to overcome old animosities related to World War II, as the two countries share common borders and Germany represents the bloc's main economy European. By contrast, another border neighbor, Ukraine, is viewed differently as Polish economic growth attracts many Ukrainian immigrants, who also wish to benefit from the possibilities of achieving European citizenship for free. circulation.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia was created in 1918 and ended up bringing together two peoples of Slav origin, the Czechs and the Slovaks, with other minorities, such as Hungarians and Germans. During World War II, the German minority received support from Germany in order to force a rupture, which gave rise to a kind of Slovak satellite state in 1939. At the end of the war, in 1945, the reunification of Czechoslovakia took place. Shortly afterwards, in 1948, socialism was established, with the Czechs dominating the administrative sphere, which provoked disagreements with the population of Slovak origin.
In 1968, the rise to power of the Slovakian Alexander Dubček began a period of transformations of just over six months, which it became known as the Prague Spring, when greater political flexibility and increased individual freedoms took place. The Soviet army guided by the Warsaw Pact suppressed the reforms and consolidated the project of political centralization. In 1989, with the transformations taking place throughout Eastern Europe and the reduction of Soviet control, the country ended the socialism, with the peaceful demonstration of thousands of people, which became known by the media as the 'Revolution of Velvet'. The following year, the first democratic elections were held and, in 1993, also peacefully, the country fragmented with the founding of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, definitively moving away from the Russian political sphere. The economic transformations were gradual, with the maintenance of some structures inherited from the socialist period and without major social losses, despite the constant problems of corruption and institutional weakness in the organization of contracts and investments. Entry into the European bloc in 2004 helped the reforms continue and Germany became the country's main trading partner. The economy ended up destabilizing with the global economic crisis, like the automobile sector, the main industrial segment in the country.
Slovakia had its industrial structure linked to the base sector (steel and metallurgy) and in the military segment during the socialist era. Modernization actually began in the early 2000s, with the country joining NATO and the European Union in 2004. With the sudden reduction of taxes, privatization and internationalization of banks, flexibility of labor laws and low wages, the Slovakia has been nicknamed the “Tiger of Central Europe” because of its high economic growth, with an emphasis on the automotive and electronic. Amidst the global economic crisis and the Eurozone, Slovakia adopted the single currency in January 2009. To contain the effects of the recession, the country increased its budget spending, which represents the biggest challenge today.
Julio César Lázaro da Silva
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP
Master in Human Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/leste-europeu-paises-que-foram-aliados-urss-parte-2.htm