The effects of the global economic crisis will be felt in Eastern Europe more than the rest of the world in the next few years, the EBRD's chief economist said in an interview published on Wednesday.
"In terms of growth, eastern Europe will trail behind the rest of the world," Erik Bergloef, chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), told the Austrian daily Der Standard.
"Over the next few years, this will be the region with the lowest economic growth," he added.
Not every country in this region, where the EBRD is especially active, faced the same problems, Bergloef noted however: those in southeastern Europe for instance were hit especially hard, after investing predominantly in property and not in producing goods.
Slovakia and Czech Republic, on the other hand, will recover more quickly, having a well-developed export trade.
In a recent report, the Bank praised the integration of former Soviet-bloc states in the western economic model.
But it noted that the region remained too dependent on the West, and by awarding too many credits, banks in eastern Europe had contributed to the economic crisis, the EBRD criticised.
Bergloef forecast that in the next few months there would be a further capital drain on eastern Europe as western banks would seek "adjustments."
This had not happened until now as these same banks had benefited from significant state aid, the EBRD's chief economist said.
