Introduction

Austrian companies are now the biggest investors in Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Bosnia; they are close runners up in Romania, and they rank third in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. The development, it appears, is all but exciting. Eastern Europe is a big success story. But of course, a place that attracts that much investment will also be exposed to conflicts. Corruption is an issue. The fast pace of changing governments leads to rapidly changing political and economic environments. New governments may also favour new peers. As a ...