One effect of establishing Comecon was increased tensions between the East and West superpowers.

Comecon was a direct Soviet response to the Marshall Plan previously setup by the USA. The objective
of Comecon was to provide economic aid package based on communist beliefs, an alternative for the
Marshall Plan, to discourage other Eastern European nations and Soviet satellite states from accepting
the Marshall Aid which could threaten the strength of the buffer zone of pro-communist nations
towards the USSR. This increased the rivalry between the nations of the East, such as the USSR, Hungary
& Czechoslovakia and the nations of the West, such as the US, Britain and France.

Another effect of the establishment of Comecon was an increase in cooperation between the satellite
states and the USSR. Stalin knew that if he wanted to maintain his buffer zone of pro-communist
nations, he would have to offer them an alternative to the Marshall Plan. As a result, the establishment
of Comecon led to an increase in cooperation and trade between the satellite states & USSR.
Furthermore, it also discouraged trade with the nations of the Western bloc. Thus, the satellite states
within the buffer zone started to grow dependent on the Soviet Union and allowing more governmental
control by the USSR over each nation’s policies and activities.