East Bloc Plans to Streamline Trade Setup : Economics: Deep differences within Comecon could result in its collapse instead of its reform.

Adjusting to a year of sweeping political change, East European leaders committed themselves Wednesday to a major overhaul of the Soviet-led trading bloc, Comecon.

The leaders agreed to scrap the cumbersome procedure of trying to coordinate rigid five-year plans and other elements of Communist centrally planned trade. They also decided to link trade more closely to the marketplace and to work toward a more realistic system of pricing.

“This meeting will lead to a turning point for our organization,” Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth said at the closing session of a two-day meeting of Comecon, formally known as the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). “A period of more than 40 years is coming to an end.”

However, deep differences were evident among members of the 10-nation organization and, as delegates finished their work, it was not clear whether they had presided over the start of Comecon’s revival or of a process that could eventually lead to its collapse.

A closing news conference was canceled, the final communique consisted of three substantive paragraphs and few delegates appeared eager to talk with reporters.

Czechoslovak Finance Minister Vaclac Klaus concluded the meeting by repeating his earlier warning that Czechoslovakia might withdraw from key Comecon agreements unless changes are made quickly.

“Comecon can be an umbrella organization for some partial agreements,” he said. “Some of the agreements will be followed by all members and some agreements by only some. It won’t be more than that.”

Nemeth referred to the differences in his closing remarks.

“On many items we achieved agreement but, as before, differences remain,” he said. “We believe the monolithic nature of our organization will disappear.”

Most of the differences reportedly centered on the extent and timing of the planned changes. The Czechs, for example, bowed to Soviet pressure for a slower pace in establishing intra-bloc trade based on world market prices. Prices on Comecon-traded goods have historically been set arbitrarily by central governments, often with no relationship at all to a product’s real value. Much of Comecon trade is also conducted in barter.

In a plan first presented to the Soviet Parliament last month, Moscow advocated starting to change this by the end of next year; the Czechs had wanted to begin the transition immediately.

The Czechs also apparently failed to nudge Moscow into agreeing that all transactions should be based on hard currency. The Soviet plan called for clearing overall trade imbalances between countries with hard currency--itself a significant shift toward the marketplace--but leaving individual transactions to be negotiated between units of the governments.

Pointing to the bilateral Czech-Polish accord last week to allow independent banking and finance experts to prepare ground work for trade between the two countries, Klaus said, “This is the future of Comecon.”

The Czechs, who felt that no further study was needed, were also unable to block the creation of an ad hoc commission to study ways of making the changes.

Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai I. Ryzhkov said, “We’re happy; we’ve come to an agreement. There is need for reform.”

While Polish and Hungarian officials have previously expressed frustration about Comecon similar to that expressed by the Czechoslovaks, they appeared reluctant to join the high-profile push for more rapid change.

Polish Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz, architect of Eastern Europe’s most radical domestic program of economic change, was barely visible in Sofia. Observers said they believed that the economic difficulties that the Poles face at home made them reluctant to openly confront Moscow on issues that were not both vital and immediate.

Hungary’s present weak government, facing an upcoming election, was also not in a position to take tough, unyielding stands, these observers said. However, some predicted that decisive pressures could quickly build within Comecon if all three of these nations begin aggressively pushing the pace of reform.

If the changes are not implemented, these countries might effectively drop out of the organization by ignoring its agreements.

For nations such as Romania and Bulgaria, whose economies are in far deeper crisis, such arguments on timing were in some instances academic. While the Czechs expressed disappointment that more was not achieved in Sofia, even they said there had been progress.

Although dominated by its seven European members, both of Comecon’s Asian states, Vietnam and Mongolia, appeared ready to accept the direction of the changes discussed. Only Cuba seemed to balk.

“Introducing the market should in no way mean a move toward anarchy in production,” warned Cuba’s Vice President Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. “Recognizing a certain degree of private ownership does not mean this should have a main role in society.”

The Comecon leaders agreed that their next meeting would be in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, but no date for the session was announced.