Transportation regions and the eastward integration of Europe

Transportation facilities and performance indicate the prospects for East-West integration in Europe. The purpose of this study is to identify and delineate regions that present particular challenges for the optimistic enlargement policy of the European Union (EU). A sequence of statistical methods - correlation, regression, and cluster analysis - reveal that the East-West dichotomy between former communist and non-communist countries was still the strongest cleavage in Europe as recently as 1997. Secondary cleavages include western subgroups - more or less road oriented - and three eastern subgroups - a Central and Eastern European (CEE) core, southeastern countries, and particularly underdeveloped countries that also have southeasterly location. Results of four cluster methods persistently reveal differences between the established EU members (15 as of 2003) and the eight former communist countries included in the 2004 accession. They also indicate that the eight are, indeed, the best candidates from the former Soviet bloc.