Page "International relations within the Comecon" Paragraph 3

This kind of economic relationship stemmed from a genuine economic problem within the Eastern communist states in 1950s.

Eastern Europe has poor energy and mineral resources, a problem exacerbated by the low energy efficiency of East European industry.

As of mid-1985, factories in Eastern Europe still used 40 % more fuel than those in the West.

Eastern European countries have always relied heavily on the Soviet Union for oil.

During the 1950s, Eastern Europe supplied the Soviet Union with those goods, otherwise unavailable, because of Western embargoes.