However, CESEE countries must not be seen as a homogenous region. The financial crisis has a stronger impact on countries with weaker economic fundamentals, insufficient policy credibility and large economic imbalances. But the outlook for the CESEE region as a whole still remains more optimistic than for the euro area.
And in the years to come, the region will have higher trend growth rates, on average, than the "old" EU Member States, simply because they are still in the process of convergence toward higher GDP per capita. Thus, CESEE will remain a driver of economic growth in Europe for the foreseeable future.