GLOBALIZATION IN THE NEW COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The main goal of this paper is to show the level of globalization and its changes that have taken place in the new Member States of the European Union (EU), exactly the former socialist countries (EU-11). The aim is also to present the reasons of differentiation in the level of globalization in these countries and the impact of globalization on economic growth. The following research methods were used: historical, literature, descriptive analysis and simple statistical methods. Statistical data used in this paper come from KOF (index of globalization and its 3 sub-indices) and Eurostat. The time range of research is 1990-2017. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: 1.The level of globalization of this group of countries has increased significantly; 2. The largest increase took place in countries where the level of globalization at the starting point was the lowest and the lowest in the most globalized countries; 3. As a result, the differences between individual countries were significantly diminished (we can see the convergence), 4. The current level of globalization of these countries is mainly the result of the combined action of both systemic transformation and the process of integration with the EU; 5. A small positive correlation exists between GDP per capita and the degree of globalization in this countries; 6. The positive impact of globalization on economic growth in the analyzed group of countries was also noted.