(FORTUNE Magazine) – By the turn of the century we will be talking about Greater Europe, one huge trading area of 450 million people living in at least 25 countries from Finland to Portugal to Bulgaria. The main trading bloc right now is still the dozen-member European Community. The baker's dozen outside want in. First in line is the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, comprising six countries that already do nearly 60% of their trade with the EC. EFTA has just approved a pact that virtually integrates its members into the Common Market. Two EFTA countries, Austria and Sweden, are seeking full EC membership. Next are Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, which have agreed to open their markets to EC products within ten years. In the rear are Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Though they have various trade agreements with the EC, they need to develop their home markets first.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: JEAN HELD FOR FORTUNE/SOURCES: IMF, PLANECON, DRI, EMBASSIES CAPTION: EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LINKED WITH EC THROUGH A FREE-TRADE AGREEMENT SEEKING ASSOCIATE STATUS WITH THE EC HAVING TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH THE EC