FOREIGN TRADE CONVERGENCE IN THE EU – THE EVIDENCE BY CEEC

Abstract

One of the most important criteria for economic cohesion in the EU is the level of convergence achieved in the export specialization of the different Member States. To determine the degree of this convergence we have analysed the changes of export specialisation of 11 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). There are EU Member States which joined the EU in 2004 – Poland, Check Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), in 2007- Romania and Bulgaria and in 2013 – Croatia. The export specialisation of these Member States was measured in four different years: 2004, 2014, 2019 and 2022. The results show that in all new Member States there is a clear trend towards convergence with the EU average in terms of export specialization. This is also a evidence for growing economic cohesion in the EU. However, the convergence process proceeds at different speeds in different countries. The convergence process is significantly more pronounced in Slovenia, Check Republic, Slovakia than in the Baltic republics and in Bulgaria.