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38 I 30 Years of transition bne December 2019
despite its control on the media and the levers of power. In Berlin, an estimated 270,000 protestors joined Global Cli- mate Strike marches in September.
The countries have also developed high actual civic engagement scores. This trend seems to be most pronounced
in the East, identified as “a new wave of dissidents in the East that can
turn back Europe’s populist tide”.
“Our results demonstrate that where the establishment has failed citizens, civil society is perceived as a trustworthy counterpart. Indeed, in all of the countries we polled, charities, community organisations,
and to some degree NGOs are seen as a force for good,” the report reads.
Academic institutions have also gained more trust as a “force for good”, which suggests that citizens may be starting to turn away from the established media in favour of the voices of experts, intellectuals and scientists.
The report pays special attention to the youngest generation, dubbed Generation Z.
“This generation, which has come of age in a post-recession era, exhibits a remarkable capacity to mobilise effectively, navigate the informa-
tion landscape, and harness social media. They are confident, feel they can influence change on a large scale, and exhibit a broad embrace of social justice that is significantly more inclu- sive than their elders’ toward ethnic minorities, LGBT groups, refugees, and immigrants,” the report notes.
The study also found out that within this generation women are a driver of positive change, being significantly more tolerant and compassionate toward minorities. However, this is also a generation that the CEE countries can lose to a brain drain if steps are
not taken to encourage young people to stay in their home countries.
bly a time for reflection on the progress made since that date, seen as the most decisive single moment in the ending of the Cold War to an end, and to also look ahead to what still needs to be achieved.
Asked whether the transition period could be said to be “over” for some
or all of the former Eastern Bloc countries, Javorcik said that while
an “enormous amount” has been achievead, the transition “is definitely not over, and the frontier is not standing still so it’s a moving target”.
“It’s not full convergence – perhaps it would have been unrealistic to expect full convergence within 30 years – but enormous progress has been made,” Javorcik tells bne IntelliNews. “Nine Central European countries are now officially classed as high income countries by the World Bank; they have reached about two-thirds of the income level of the OECD countries.”
On top of the economic catch-up, Javorcik points to other factors indicating progress such as individual satisfaction with life. The EBRD examined this in a survey published in its annual Transition Report in 2016, finding that respondents from Central European and Baltic countries reported similar levels of satisfaction to their peers in West European countries such as Germany and Italy.
CEE makes enormous progress but held back by governance issues
Clare Nuttall in Glasgow
The new EU member states of Central and Southeast Europe have made “enormous progress” during the three decades of transition, but are being held back by the quality of their institutions. Tackling this will help determine whether the region can shift to a model of innovation-
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led growth, says European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) chief economist Beata Javorcik in an interview with bne IntelliNews.
An anniversary of significance – the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is on Saturday, November 9 – is inevita-