The World Bank in Europe and Central Asia

Economic growth for the emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) of the Europe and Central Asia region is expected to slow significiantly to 2.5% on average in 2025-26 in the face of profound global uncertainty, weaker external demand, and a slowdown in Russia.

Risks are heavily tilted to the downside. Heightened global policy uncertainty, trade fragmentation, increased trade barriers, geopolitical tensions, and financial market volatility dominate. Serious challenges could arise from weaker than-anticipated economic expansions in key trading partners, further adverse shifts in global trade policy, and continued softening of commodity prices. Tight labor markets and potential supply-side shocks could exacerbate inflation, but how these factors will develop remains to be seen.

Learn More: Regional Economic Update Spring 2025

Last Updated: Apr 23, 2025

The World Bank works with countries in Europe and Central Asia to eliminate poverty and promote shared prosperity by boosting human capital, enabling markets, creating jobs, and building and strengthening institutions. Unprecedented shocks and uncertainty have hit the region in recent years—from COVID-19, high inflation, as well as the human tragedies of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye—requiring a pivot within these engagement areas towards boosting resilience and protecting and strengthening the foundations of future prosperity:

• Support private sector-led job growth and accelerate economic activity through entrepreneurship, technology adoption, and innovation
• Protect human capital from the impacts of the region’s recent crises and reverse its long-term erosion
• Strengthen energy security, efficiency, and resilience to drive economic growth

By prioritizing these efforts, the region can encourage an enterprise-driven growth model, which is essential for creating better-paying jobs and achieving and sustaining high-income status.

Results

We work with client countries to fight poverty and boost shared prosperity by helping them build more responsible institutions, increase private investment, improve service delivery, upgrade infrastructure, protect the environment, support human development, and empower marginalized groups.

In order to deliver integrated solutions that help countries address their development challenges, we regularly look at where we are achieving results and making an impact. By measuring and monitoring those results, we can then improve the way we support our clients and achieve better development outcomes.

Find out more about our results in Europe and Central Asia.

Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS)

Middle-income countries interested in highly specific knowledge services that exceed what the Bank can finance from its own resources are increasingly accessing Bank technical expertise using Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS).

Analytical Work Highlights

In addition to its financial products and RASs, the Bank produces important research about critical issues in the region. Through its analytical work, the World Bank aims to bring global knowledge and adapt it to the needs of countries across Europe and Central Asia.

Find out more about our publications and research on Europe and Central Asia.

European Union, European Commission, and other institutions

The World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region has a strategic partnership with the European Union (EU), and is working with the European Commission (EC) and European international financial institutions (IFIs) to improve the capacity of ECA’s EU-member clients to absorb EU funds.

The Bank works closely together with EU institutions, European IFIs (European Investment Bank [EIB] and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD]), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the second Vienna Initiative, which aims to improve banking systems and coordination among banking regulators in EU and non-EU countries.

The World Bank Group, the EBRD, and the EIB Group came together in November 2012 for a new Joint International Financial Institution (IFI) Action Plan. One of the most important priorities under the Action Plan was to ensure continued financing for SMEs that are key drivers of innovation and job creation in the region.

ECA works on Roma inclusion across the region in collaboration with various partners, including the European Commission, the Roma Education Fund, and a variety of national Roma agencies.

The Bank is also working with the EurAsian Economic Community’s (EURASEC) Anti-Crisis Fund and with the Eurasian Development Bank to provide parallel financing for low-income ECA countries.