- Central and Eastern Europe - Poland, the Czech Repubilc and Hungary alone took in USD 12.96 bilion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 1999, i.e. 60% of total investment in the 26 countries of Central and Eastern European (CEECs) and the former USSR receiving aid from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Welcoming the performances of these three countries, Ricardo Lago, the Bank's Chief Economist, stated that neighbouring Eastern European countries must reform their economic systems to draw more foreign investment, with priority going to: a more transparent taxation system favouring greater macroeconomic stability, protection of foreigners' property rights and guarantees for the rights of minority shareholders in enterprises in these countries. The CEECs are on the right track, said Mr Lago, which is not the always the case for the countries of the former Soviet Union, outside of the three Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) which have already made considerable progress along these lines.