The policies of the United States, NATO, the European Union, as well as Russia towards Central and Eastern European Countries, and the relations among these parties played important, sometimes even decisive roles, in the Central and Eastern European countries’ change of position from being satellite states of the Soviet Union to members of the NATO and EU. When the Cold War ended, the United States became the only superpower in the world and the U.S., Europe, and Russia failed to establish a balance of power. Under these circumstances, the Central and Eastern European Countries’ finalized and implemented a strategy to “return to Europe” and join NATO and the EU. The Central and Eastern European Countries’ membership in NATO and EU has had some influence on the relations among the great powers, but it will not radically change the pattern of their current relations.