The present paper examines the Europe Agreements and the CEFTA and considers their impact on trade flows and trade policy of transition economies. The relationship of regional trading arrangements to the multilateral trading system is an important issue in trade policy. Today, the intensification of regional integration initiatives is clear and regionalism emerges as an integral part of the trading environment. Regional trading arrangements are developed as "building blocks" and not as "stumbling blocks" to multilateral liberalisation. The prospects of enhanced economic growth resulting from better regional specialisation and increased FDI flows attracted by expanding regional markets are important economic factors. In transition economies, regional trading arrangements are expected to complement and solidify shifts toward market-oriented reforms. Multilateralism and regionalism are in contradiction only if liberalisation is exclusively associated with the global trade perspective while regional trade is linked with protectionist tendencies.
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