New challenges for the Cultural and Economic Development in the European Union: the Long Term Transformations

Abstract

creation and development of the integral cultural and economic space in Europe and the main development problems in the context of the transition processes in the Central and Eastern Europe and in the “enlarged” European Union. The paper has used the outcomes of the research done over the recent several years, dedicated to the diag-nostics of the problems of transformations as well as economic and social development in Central and Eastern Europe with a special reference to the development of the integral cultural and economic space. Major findings show that the creation and develop-ment of the integral cultural and economic space in Europe is a very complex and controversial process and in this course various problems and conflicts arise. Therefore, to encourage the creation of the integral cul-tural and economic space in Europe appropriate policies are necessary to be implemented in Europe. These poli-cies may embrace many priorities including • creation of knowledge based society and knowl-edge economy in the European Union; • adaptation and dissemination of integrated Euro-pean dimensions; • elimination of inappropriate factors within human-ism and democracy of all European countries; • provision of equal rights in all groups of modern society. For implementation of key priorities of cultural and economic policies the use of a number of pan-European scale special programmes is suggested. This publication analyzes the long term development processes in the East – and Central European countries, typicalities of the enlargement of the European Union and a new approach towards the way how long term strategies designed to create knowledge based society and knowledge economy in the European Union should be prepared. The new non-traditional ideas of possible economic and social development in Central and Eastern Europe are discussed.