Slowdown in growth. - Eastern European countries, which had until now resisted the general slowdown in economic growth in Europe, are also now beginning to be affected by the crisis. The deterioration in the eurozone, the main economic partner of Central and Eastern European countries, had hitherto little effect on their economies but these countries have now been affected by the crisis, mainly in the industrial production and foreign trade sectors, commented Marcin Kopaczynski from the Raiffeisen Bank. The crisis means that the growth in imports from countries that adopted the Euro went from 5.5% in 2007 to 2.8% in 2008 and could fall even further to 1.2% next year. This slowdown will have a direct impact on order books from Eastern European factories and direct investment from abroad is beginning to falter. According to the IMF, economies from Eastern Europe are not expected to grow by more than 3.4% next year and not the 4.5% initially forecast. In Poland, growth is expected to fall from 5.8% to 4% in the second quarters of 2008 and 2009. In Romania, the decline will be even more painful with a fall from 8.5% to 5%. The financial sphere in this region, however, remains relatively protected because stock markets are fairly underdeveloped and companies still prefer to obtain funding from retail banks rather than from the stock exchange. The lack of confidence between banks may, nevertheless, threaten local firms that obtain funding from foreign establishments. (I.L./transl.rh)