Lessons From Central Europe by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

The latest progress report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on ex-communist countries in central Europe and the Baltics, holds important lessons for those regions of the world that still doubt the benefits of free trade and open markets. The Transition Report 2005 actually focuses on many areas where reform is still pending, including the remaining inadequacy of many institutions in some central and eastern European countries. But what has been achieved so far is impressive and also needs to be understood by Africans and Latin Americans if they are to shake their current morass.