Case Study 2: The European Transition Compendium: Much Ado about Nothing?

Abstract

The Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have substantial knowledge and unique experience in economic and political transition, gained over two decades from managing transformation of their political and economic systems from communist rule and planned economy to liberal democracy and market economy (European Parliament, Commission and Council, 2006, p. 6; Szent-Ivanyi and Tétényi, 2008, p. 582). Currently, the most substantial and only attempt by the CEECs to capitalize on this transition experience in EU development policy and expand the EU’s existing aid toolbox represents the so-called European Transition Compendium (ETC). The ETC is a compilation of over 300 pages, covering the EU-12’s expertise, best practices and experience in the management of political, economic and social transition as well as external (EU) aid to facilitate such political and economic transformations (Lopez-Pena, 2010, p. 1). It goes back to a European Commission initiative of in June 2009, which aimed to enhance the EU-12’s contribution to the EU’s development policy within the framework of its so-called ‘capacity-building scheme’ for the new donors from Central and Eastern Europe. While from the CEECs’ point of view the ETC should become ‘a new effective tool to support the use of transition experience’ in EU development cooperation drawing on a budget line in the EU’s new financial aid framework for the period 2014–2020, it constitutes only a report supplemented by an online database making this expertise and experience available to anyone who is interested (Czech Government, 2011b, p. 1).