EN
Last decades are characterised by quick economic development. It causes the better fulfill the needs of the society. On the other hand it effects the negative economic phenomena such as: unemployment, homelessness, poverty e.c. These problems make the governments seek new forms of organisation to alleviate them. One of the solutions is to develop cooperatives. A characteristic feature of the developed countries is the speed development of these organisations thanks to tax incentives and other privileges given them by the government. Central and Eastern European countries have entered 14 years ago the rough path of building a democratic state. A characteristic feature of these countries is to privatise the state-owned enterprises. That is the reason why there is no space for re-building cooperatives to defend citizens interest. This paper ames to answer the question; what are the tendencies in the development of cooperatives in Central and Eeastem European Countries. Two groups of countries are investigated: • EU members, with quite high economic development (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary); • less developed countries, who are not members of the EU (Bulgaria, Lithuania). The analysis allows to appreciate the grade of the development and conditions of activity of the cooperatives in these countries.