| The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies - WIIW |
Yugoslavia: Politics first
Things have changed in Yugoslavia. However, the necessary political
consolidation is only beginning. Also, many daunting constitutional issues
have to be addressed yet. Under these conditions, the absence of clear
programmes and policy commitments is understandable. Only after the December
elections, things may become clearer – allowing some assessments of macroeconomic
developments and the course of policy on privatization, deregulation and
other issues.
Land markets in Central and Eastern Europe
A market for farmland destined for further agricultural use hardly
exists at present, whereas trading in farmland to be used for non-agricultural
purposes has been quite intense – though this is limited to areas close
to major, prosperous urban areas. The CEE governments want to maintain
restrictions on foreign land ownership for some transitory period after
EU accession. There are some good reasons for this attitude.
Policies diverting FDI from Romania
The low level of FDI in Romania and especially its volatility over
the past ten years have to a large extent resulted from uncertainty over
legal, policy and institutional conditions of doing business. The present
legal framework provides for national treatment of foreign investors without
any special incentives. Investments are stimulated by general rules of
taxation, by regional policy and by the policy related to small and medium-size
enterprises.
The European Commission's third Regular Report – a comment
The European Commission's third Regular Report registered improving
maturity for membership in the EU in the case of seven of the ten applicant
CEECs. The Regular Report also provided a road map for the next stage of
the accession negotiations. Through allocating the remaining chapters to
be negotiated into three semesters up to June 2002, the uncertainties
surrounding the accession talks up to recently will diminish to some extent.