Recession in the Balkans

Balkans Feel Chill of World Recession :: BalkanInsight.com

The IMF and other lenders recently in principle agreed to lend 20
billion euro to Romania and 3 billion euro to Serbia. But while the
loans came as a relief and covers the countries' financing gap, some
analysts in Serbia have doubted their government's ability to adhere to
the rigid fiscal discipline the lenders require.
...
According to Serbia’s National Service for Employment, the number of
unemployed people has increased by 31,000 in the last four months.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina has been harder hit still. It is yet to launch
negotiations with the IMF, but economic experts predict that the
country, especially its Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat dominated
entity, will not be able to meet requirements and curb excessive
spending on social benefits.

As a result, several local officials predict that the
Bosniak-Croat dominated entity's budget and government will collapse
within the next five months. The IMF has predicted that GDP growth rate
in 2009 will at best remain flat.

...

Croatia's economy is also poised for a serious downturn this year,
analysts have warned, although the country’s statistic bureau still
reported a year-on-year quarterly rise of 0.2 per cent in the last
quarter.