| Popis: |
Western Balkans, consisting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, is one of the regions that have been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the numbers are relatively low compared to other countries affected by the virus, the region’s fragile political and economic circumstance have made it vulnerable to the pandemic. The violent breakup of Yugoslavia continue to affect the region’s international relations and domestic politics. Furthermore, Western Balkan states are some of the few European countries that are still not members of the European Union (EU) . Every day, people are losing jobs and income, with no way of knowing when normality will return. The Western Balkans rely heavily on the steady inflow of remittances, which financing domestic demand and investment. Remittances, which constitute 10% of the GDP in these countries , are likely to diminish because of travel restrictions and increased unemployment in the countries of Western Europe. [1]. The World Bank projects a US$110 billion decline in remittances this year, which could mean 800 million people will not be able to meet their basic needs [2]. Due to business shutdowns, supply-side disruptions, reduce household incomes, depress demand these countries results in fall in gross domestic product. To mitigate the social impacts of the crisis, governments in all six countries have introduced measures to support households and businesses. To ease the effects of the pandemic, governments in the region have turned towards international institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU for financial assistance. As these countries do not have sufficient health infrastructure to deal with a wide number of cases, these support have been useful to contain the spread of the virus. Key words: Covid-19 virus, global health crisis, government response, recession Western Balkans |
