The Soviet Union’s failed attempt to reform the CMEA

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Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • ソ連のコメコン改革構想とその挫折
  • ソ連のコメコン改革構想とその挫折 : 一九九〇-九一年の域内交渉過程を中心に
  • ソレン ノ コメコン カイカク コウソウ ト ソノ ザセツ : イチキュウキュウ〇-キュウイチネン ノ イキ ナイコウショウ カテイ オ チュウシン ニ
  • Internal negotiations, 1990-1991
  • 1990－91年の域内交渉過程を中心に

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Description

This article analyzes efforts by the Soviet Union to maintain some form of cooperation between the member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), by focusing on the negotiations of 1990-91 within the Council concerning its reform and the formation of a successor organization. The research to date on the CMEA has almost totally neglected these intra-CMEA talks, wrongly assuming that the Council simply collapsed after Eastern European regime change in 1989. To the contrary, the collapse of the CMEA was far from self-evident; in fact, as this article shows, the Council ended up disbanding itself as a result of rapid changes occurring in European international relations, policy changes in some CMEA member states, and prolonged negotiations with non-European member states.<br>   While the Soviet Union at first attempted to bring about economic integration within the CMEA, amidst strong objection from Central European countries---namely, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland---it was finally agreed to form the Organization for International Economic Relations (OMES), whose main aim would be consultation between its member states, resulting in the Organization having only limited authority. Moreover, due to demands made by Cuba, one of the CMEA’s non-European members, for special arrangements and its consequent objection to the OMES draft statute, it took additional time to reach a unanimous agreement.<br>   After the Soviet Union seemed to have succeeded in obtaining approval from all the member-states at the beginning of February 1991, the three Central European members retracted their approval shortly thereafter, on the grounds that non-European countries would take part in OMES. However, the real reason for their unilateral withdrawal was rather their decision to prioritize talks over their accession into the European Community. As a result of this policy reversal, the CMEA disbanded without any organization to succeed it.

Journal

  • SHIGAKU ZASSHI

    SHIGAKU ZASSHI 130 (1), 1-35, 2021

    The Historical Society of Japan

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