Trieste's stock exchange quotes in Austrian shillings, central and eastern Europe currencies and Russian rubles. Trieste's geopolitical position becomes more important in light of recent events to expand the European Common Market. When Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic come into the fold, the focal point of Europe takes a decided shift to the east. A look at a map of Europe shows that Trieste will be in almost the exact center of the enlarged European market. Any place in the city is roughly a half hour from the Slovenian border.
Shippers can promise delivery to either Slovenia or Hungary within six hours.
Their GDP is increasing at a rate of four to five percent a year. But it will take some time before they adapt themselves to western-style economies, and Trieste can provide the stable platform companies need to do business in eastern Europe. Trieste also wears the mantle of political acceptance as the focal point for eastern Europe relations. The secretariat for the Central European Initiative, which now encompasses 15 countries, is in Trieste. The Italian government, the European Commission, the United Nations and the governments of eastern Europe acknowledge that Trieste is the gathering point for collaborations with the East.