Editing Eastern Europe (section)

===Since 1989===
{{multiple image
| header    = '''2004–2013 EU enlargements'''
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| width1    = 125
| image1    = EU25-2004 European Union map enlargement.svg
| caption1  = {{legend|#003399|Existing members}} {{legend|#ffcc00|New members in 2004}}<br />[[Cyprus]]<br />[[Czech Republic]]<br />[[Estonia]]<br />[[Hungary]]<br />[[Latvia]]<br />[[Lithuania]]<br />[[Malta]]<br />[[Poland]]<br />[[Slovakia]]<br />[[Slovenia]]
| width2    = 125
| image2    = EU27-2007 European Union map enlargement.svg
| caption2  = {{legend|#003399|Existing members}} {{legend|#ffcc00|New members in 2007}}<br />[[Bulgaria]]<br />[[Romania]]
| width3    = 125
| image3    = EU28-2013 European Union map enlargement.svg
| caption3  = {{legend|#003399|Existing members}} {{legend|#ffcc00|New members in 2013}}<br />[[Croatia]]
}}
 
With the [[Revolutions of 1989|fall]] of the [[Iron Curtain]] in 1989, the political landscape of the [[Eastern Bloc]], and indeed the world, changed. In the [[German reunification]], the Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic in 1990. In 1991, [[COMECON]], the [[Warsaw Pact]], and the Soviet Union were dissolved. Many European nations that had been part of the Soviet Union declared or regained their independence ([[Belarus]], [[Moldova]], [[Ukraine]], as well as the [[Baltic States]] of [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Estonia]]). [[Czechoslovakia]] [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|peacefully separated]] into the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]] in 1993. Many countries of this region joined the [[European Union]], namely [[Bulgaria]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Croatia]], Estonia, [[Hungary]], Latvia, Lithuania, [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]] and [[Slovenia]]. The term "EU11 countries" refer to the [[Central Europe|Central]] and Eastern European member states, including the [[Baltic states]], that accessed in 2004 and after: in 2004 the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic; in 2007 Bulgaria, Romania; and in 2013 Croatia.

The economic changes were in harmony with the constitutional reforms: constitutional provisions on public finances can be identified and, in some countries, a separate chapter deals with public finances. Generally, they soon encountered the following problems: high inflation, high unemployment, low economic growth, and high government debt. By 2000 these economies were stabilized, and between 2004 and 2013 all of them joined the European Union. Most of the constitutions define directly or indirectly the economic system of the countries parallel to the democratic transition of the 1990s: free-market economy (sometimes complemented with the socially [and ecologically] oriented sector), economic development, or only economic rights are included as a ground for the economy.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|last=Vértesy|first=László|date=2018|title=Macroeconomic Legal Trends in the EU11 Countries|url=https://www.dialogcampus.hu/users/default/dialogcampus/uploads/elektronikus_konyvek/pga2018_01_09_vertesy.pdf|journal=Public Governance, Administration and Finances Law Review|volume= 3. No. 1. 2018|access-date=12 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812055105/https://www.dialogcampus.hu/users/default/dialogcampus/uploads/elektronikus_konyvek/pga2018_01_09_vertesy.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the case of fiscal policy, the legislative, the executive and other state organs (Budget Council, Economic and Social Council) define and manage the budgeting. The average government debt in the countries is nearly 44%, but the deviation is great because the lowest figure is close to 10% but the highest is 97%. The trend shows that the sovereign debt ratio to GDP in most countries has been rising. Only three countries are affected by high government debt: Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia (over 70% of the GDP), while Slovakia and Poland fulfill the Maastricht requirement but only 10% below the threshold. The contribution to cover the finances for common needs is declared, the principle of just tax burden-sharing is supplemented sometimes with special aspects. Tax revenues expose typically 15–19 % of the GDP, and rates above 20% only rarely can be found.<ref name="auto"/>

The state audit of the government budget and expenditures is an essential control element in public finances and an important part of the concept of checks and balances. The central banks are independent state institutions, which possess a monopoly on managing and implementing a state's or federation's monetary policy. Besides monetary policy, some of them even perform the supervision of the financial intermediary system. In the case of a price stability function, the inflation rate, in the examined area, relatively quickly dropped to below 5% by 2000. In monetary policy the differences are based on the euro-zone: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia use the common currency. The economies of this decade – similar to the previous one – show a moderate inflation. As a new phenomenon, a slight negative inflation (deflation) appeared in that decade in several countries (Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia), which demonstrates sensitivity regarding international developments. The majority of the constitutions determine the national currency, legal tender or monetary unit. The local currency exchange rate to the U.S. dollar shows that drastic interventions were not necessary. National wealth or assets are the property of the state or local governments and, as an exclusive property, the management and protection of them aim at serving the public interest.<ref name="auto"/>
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