Phare support to SME development has mainly consisted of technical assistance and advisory services to national institutions, support to SME policy and legislative development and financial support for SME development. Progress has been made in tackling problems inherited from the past, as well...

This ex post evaluation addresses the EU/EC’s pre-accession assistance provided to the twelve countries that acceded to the European Union as part of the ‘fifth wave’ of EU enlargement, i.e. Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia...

The Slovak economy experienced a strong but short recession in 2009. The recovery afterwards was driven by exports and investment. While GDP growth was one of the strongest in OECD, employment did not reach the pre-crisis level and unemployment remains stubbornly high. This paper argues that...