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In Europe, after the creation of the initial European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC) were created three other free trade areas:

★ European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

★ Baltic Free Trade Area (BAFTA)

★ Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
The initial communities were later merged as the European Communities that are now part of the European Union. Membership in them grew during the years and now most of the EFTA, BAFTA and CEFTA states have left to become EU member states. Of these three blocs only EFTA is envisioned to last longer since currently its members do not intend to join the EU - most of them participate in the EU common market through the European Economic Area (EEA) instead.