Risk Watch
The revision of budget projections for 2009 is an important step to guarantee the stability of the public finances and the confidence of foreign investors, however steeper cuts will be needed....
Donald Tusk’s cabinet in Poland is the most stable coalition in the region at the moment, taking more than 50% of the votes on the EP elections....
In Romania, the parties of the big coalition dominate the political field with an almost equal, head-to-head result. Meanwhile, the slump in the Romanian economy is deeper than expected....
For the second time in succession, Slovakia recorded the lowest voter turnout among all EU countries in the European Parliament elections: 19,6%. Meanwhile, economic forecasts turned for the worse....
The Saudi government has improved it relations with the Shiite population in the southern Najran province by granting land....
Kidnapping activity shows no signs of decrease in Yemen....
Four GCC states signed a pact on 7 June creating a monetary union. It comes as a confidence-building measure after the shock decision by the UAE to not be part of it....
Kuwait-Iraqi relations have deteriorated after Iraqi legislators proposed to stop paying compensations for Kuwait, in response to Kuwait’s refusal to agree to Iraq exiting the UN’s chapter 7....
Oman has simplified its corporate tax laws to woe foreign investors, offering a fixed 12 percent tax on all corporations working in Oman....
GDP in Bulgaria fell by 3.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009. Unemployment likely to become a rising economic as well as social problem, especially in the manufacturing industry....
The interim government’s inauguration provisionally ended the political crisis, but the debate concerning the Treaty of Lisbon is still going on....
The recession has hit Slovakia more seriously than expected, possibly affecting governing party Smer, so the European elections will serve as a test....
Starting EU accession talks, visa regime liberalization and decentralization in IPA funds management are the three priorities of Macedonia....
The Polish authorities remain committed to the 2009 state budget, primarily by cutting expenditure at the state level, but lacking the will to act firmly, a higher budget deficit is expected....
FDI saw a 13.9% drop in the first trimester of 2009 in Romania. As previously expected, after the first quarter the country’s economy took a steep downward direction....
The royal pardon of Shiite opposition leaders in Bahrain diffuses what could have potentially evolved into the most serious crisis between the Shiite and Sunni communities of Bahrain....
Two high-profile court cases in the Dubai courts are likely to further erode the credibility of the Dubai real-estate market. ...
Recent tensions between the Doha Centre for Media Freedom and its political sponsor, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, has raised questions about the freedom of press in Qatar....
The hostilities in the Sa’ada region between government forces and Houthi rebels further undermines the very shaky truce. Reports of Al Qaeda involvement undermines the government’s authority....
The delay in the launching of the GCC common currency amid reports of differences between member states increases the likelihood of scrapping the project altogether....