In 1989, the spectacular dismantling of the Berlin Wall marked the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Despite the speed of the system's fall, the transition to liberalized economies and societies has been neither swift nor smooth. What was attempted in Prague in 1968 and Gdansk in 1980 is, in many ways, still not complete. While German reunification and the expansion of the European Union signal historic successes, they contrast with political strife in the former Yugoslavia, rights abuses and undemocratic practices in several nations and economic problems in countries ranging from Latvia to Romania. The headline-grabbing confrontation in Ukraine brings even more controversy to this part of the world. In this panel, former senior officials from the region discuss what went right a quarter-century ago, what has gone wrong and what these diverse places and peoples should do next.