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Central and Eastern Europe

For several decades after World War II, the economic and political systems that prevailed in what is now called Central and Eastern Europe placed significant restrictions on the development of foreign trade. Sweden’s trade with this part of Europe was consequently very limited. However, the collapse of the Communist system and the region’s gradual integration into Western economic structures have opened up tremendous new opportunities for trade and investment. Since 1991, trade has developed very rapidly, especially with the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), and Poland.

These developments have been supported by a number of measures in the trade policy field. EFTA concluded free trade agreements with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Sweden signed bilateral free trade agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as long ago as 1992. Poland is the single most important trade partner in this region, accounting for 1.6 percent of Swedish foreign trade in 1997. This puts it on par with Switzerland.

As a member of the European Union, Sweden is a party to the EU association agreements with the Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), Romania and Bulgaria, and also to the association agreements with the Baltic countries and Slovenia.

An important element of the Swedish program of assistance to Central and Eastern Europe is the development of trade relations. Sweden supports the future enlargement of the European Union to include these countries. This enlargement will bring new opportunities for investments and trade to Europe as a whole.
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