| Summary: | `titrebFive «Little Europes» Recombined Trade Flows `/titreb An analysis of bilateral trade within Europe (the Fifteen, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway as well as the ten countries of central and eastern Europe candidates at EU membership), is based on two methods : the first consists in reconciling trading volume with economic size to provide a GDP-adjusted indicator of trade intensity between two countries the second takes into account the real preponderance of trade in one country with the 27 others in an enlarged Europe, as defined by the author. This study reveals five large zones of particularly closely related countries : northwest Europe, the Baltic Sea, the western Mediterranean, central Europe, and the eastern Balkans. These areas include the EU members and candidates as, from 1991, the association accords signed with the EU have taken into account membership conditions with regard to trade. A more precise analysis reveals core areas within these zones (such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia in central Europe, or among the three Baltic countries in the Baltic region) and slightly looser relations with the periphery. Moreover, the shift in foreign trade from the ex-communist block, previously oriented nearly exclusively towards and to the advantage of the USSR, was a major event in the early 1990s, but relations within the enlarged Europe changed only marginally between 1994 and 2000. Results from the second method confirm the preponderate influence of Germany in Europe, in particular on the candidates countries. Italy is also extending its presence, while France and the United Kingdom endeavour to take the lead in more restricted markets (the Visegrad group in the first case and the Baltic nations in the second). L’analyse des flux commerciaux bilatéraux entre 1994 et 2000 au sein d’une Europe à 28 (les Quinze, la Suisse, l’Islande et la Norvège, ainsi que les dix pays d’Europe centrale et orientale candidats à l’adhésion à l’UE) repose ici sur deux méthodes : la première consiste à corriger le poids ...
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