In view of the prospect of further economic expansion during 2019-2021, a revision in the budget balance targets for 2019-2021 (compared to those laid out in SPU2018) may be in order if a cyclically-appropriate policy stance is to be attained. In particular, the projection of a general government deficit of € million in 2019 is not sufficiently ambitious, given the cyclical conditions.
The EU is by far the most important trading partner for the countries in the region, accounting for between half and three quarters of the foreign trade of the countries in the region. Moreover, export performance of these countries has remained positive regardless of economic conditions in their main export markets.