Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, CMEA or COMECON, was
established in 1949 ostensibly to create a common market. CMEA was a
Soviet initiative with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and
Romania as founder members. The Council was later joined by the German
Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Cuba, and Vietnam; Yugoslavia held associate
status. Members normally received some products, particularly oil and gas,
from the former Soviet Union at below-market prices. CMEA was succeeded in
1991 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OIEC).