U. member, one wonders if Poland and other former Eastern Bloc countries have really turned the corner in economic development and conducting business.

FORBES: Poland Needs To Clean Up Polish Telecom Before It Ascends To E.U. Presidency

It mentioned the integration of the former communist eastern bloc countries.

BBC: Nobel Peace Prize: Surprise in Brussels at award for EU

Living in post-Franco Spain, along with his visits to former Eastern Bloc countries like Hungary and Romania, taught him something about dictatorships in transition, he says.

WSJ: Two Clerics Differ on Cuban Reform

In an article published in National Review, Pacepa, who when he defected to the US in 1978 became the highest ranking Soviet-bloc defector, claimed that in the late 1950s the KGB began perceiving the Catholic Church as the primary threat to its control over Eastern Bloc countries.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Opportunity is knocking on Israel��s door

The Commission and national governments co-finance development projects, and former Soviet bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe are big recipients because communism left them with some dilapidated infrastructure.

BBC: Poland hurt by EU aid freeze over suspicious road deal

The idea of applying these fracing techniques to Europe is appealing, especially in Eastern and Central Europe, where the former Soviet bloc countries still largely depend on imported natural gas from Russia for domestic consumption.

FORBES: Poland: Fracing On The Rise?

While Russia and some African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries want to tax foreign content providers and track web-based traffic, the EU has formed a bloc with the US to kibosh any such changes.

ENGADGET: EU stands with the US against proposed ITU internet changes: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'