EASTERN VS. SOUTHERN PERIPHERALITY IN THE EU: THE STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CENTRE-PERIPHERY MODEL

In this article, we wanted to analyse the relationships created between the economic and spatial peripherality (GDP/capita, level of specialisation, accessibility potential, degree of business concentration and employment rate), of the 81 development regions at the NUTS 2 level, within the countries situated at the EU southern border (Spain, Portugal, Greece) and at the eastern one (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). Our approach aims at answering the following questions: Does spatial position influence the development degree? Can regions which divide similar institutional and geographic factors converge rapidly? Will the least developed regions from the east be able to experience a more accentuated economic increase and catch-up with the most developed ones from the EU economic centre? How did the centre-periphery model evolve in the European Union through the extension towards the East? Are there any similarities or differences between the southern and the eastern peripherality? Can the southern peripherality be a model for the eastern one? Based on the results obtained, we shall try to trace, in the conclusions, a few guiding lines that may lead to the reduction of regional disparities, in order to ensure the convergence of these regions and a better perspective of the economic competitiveness with the regions from Western Europe. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]