Knocking on the Door: The Baltic Rim Transition Countries Ready for Europe?

The contribution deals with the progress of institutional reform in the Economies in Transition (EIT) on the Eastern Baltic Rim: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The criteria of successful reform are derived from the framework of a functioning market economy and from the rules of the EU’s acquis communautaire. Moreover, Polish, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Foreign trade patterns are discussed and the state of economic integration which has been achieved so far is analysed. Trade entropies and a gravity model serve as analytical tools.