There is little doubt that the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have been effected (A) by the financial crisis and global slowdown. After several years of recording GDP growth of around 5 percent, (B) CEE is expected to have contracted by 5.2 percent in 2009, according to International Monetary Fund estimates. Its projections for 2010 show growth, but only in moderation, with 1.8 percent anticipated. The CIS, which had grown by over 8 percent in 2007, will have seen a contraction of over 5 percent in 2009, according to IMF figures. Indeed, in its 2009 World Economic Outlook, the IMF suggests that of all the regions in the world, “the CIS countries are forecast to experience the largest reversal of economic fortune over the near term”.
Read more