Challenges of the Banking Integration Process in the Case of the New EU Member States

The creation of the single European market represents a 50 years long process which aimsat developing the most advanced economy in the world. In order to achieve this, political actions mustbe accompanied by economical and juridical changes in order to stimulate and foster the creation ofthe single European market. A key component of this process is represented by the integration of thefinancial sector. While several component of it have registered major transformations andachievements in the integration process, one of the least integrated parts is represented by theEuropean banking sector. Most of the European economies are funded directly through the bankingsector, thus the integration of this sector represents a major benchmarks in the European integrationprocess. This problem becomes more complex in the context of the European Union enlargement to27 member states. Thus, the aim of this paper is to underline the progresses achieved by the bankingsectors of the European Union new member states from Central and Eastern Europe in theirintegration process. In order to achieve this we will use an empirical analysis based on the Law of OnePrice, which will underline the progress made by the banking sectors of the panel countries: Poland,Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The results of the research will providean overview of the main achievements registered by these countries, while also underling hownational particularities of these sectors affect their integration.