Sustainable Development – A New Challenge for the Countries in Central and Eastern Europe

The paper gives an overview on the transformation process of 10 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries leading to a change of political structure and the emergence of market mechanisms. These countries intend to get admission into the European Union (EU) in the near future. Therefore, the legal system of the EU is the standard for them and, in particular, they follow the respective environmental protection measures.The implementation of sustainable development is a new challenge for the CEE countries. Beside environmental protection, economic and social dimensions are also to be considered, and these three pillars are in mutual interaction. In the CEE countries, the preparations to implement elements of sustainable development began in the last few years. Thus, the documents of the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development stimulate this recent process. The successful implementation requires the close cooperation of the governments, the various stakeholders and the civil society.