Is transition over?

T ransition from a centrally planned to a market-based system in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) started about a decade ago and - by its very name - was meant to end at some point in time. Has this date arrived yet? Or are we in the midst of the "transition from transition", is it "transformation", "post-transition", even "integration", or just plain "development"? Does anybody care anyway? They should, not least because the (alleged) transition countries still receive a very special kind of treatment, for example by being served by a development bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, designed for their transition-specific purposes. If transition were over, publicly financed credit provided by the Bank to these countries could unnecessarily crowd out the private sector, the activities of which should be encouraged as a matter of first priority (...)