Transition economy to the IMF, Iran is in transition to a market economy, demonstrating early stages of a transition economy. The eight first-wave accession countries, which joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) and the two second-wave accession countries that joined on 1 January 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria) have completed the transition process. According to the World Bank, "the transition is over" for the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. It can be also understood as all countries of the Eastern Bloc. "Transition economics" is a special branch
A8 countries A8 countries The A8 countries, also referred to as the EU8, are a group of eight of the 10 countries that joined the European Union during its 2004 enlargement. They are commonly grouped together separately from the other two states that joined in 2004, Cyprus and Malta, because of their relatively lower per capita income levels in comparison to the EU average. The countries were: A particular reason for grouping the A8 countries was an expectation that they would be the origin for a new wave of increased migration to wealthier European countries. They subsequently did prove to be the