Tamar Sulukhia, the Director of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute, took part in a discussion organized within the RECONOMY program. This online forum focused on the ways the Russian invasion of Ukraine has challenged the EU’s approach towards the future of Eastern Partnership countries, as well as prospects for EU integration.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has profoundly affected nearly every aspect of the global economy, from food and energy security to supply chains and financial markets. The World Bank (June 2022) estimates that the 2021 5.5% rebound global growth is therefore expected to drop to 2.9% y/y in 2022.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the global pandemic, have diverted the world’s attention and in general, put climate change and the green economy onto the back burner of the political agenda.

CCI decreases again. After the CCI’s quick comeback in March, the index failed to continue the upward trend and fell again after February’s shock; the index decreased by 2.9 index points – from -31.5 in March to -34.4 in April. Both the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index contributed to the decrease, with the Present Situation Index dropping by 2.9 index points

For the second quarter of 2022, business confidence in Georgia decreased (by 2.2 index points) and reached 15.1. The highest decrease in business confidence is observed in construction (-29.7), and wholesale and retail trade (-7.6) sectors. The negative change in BCI for Q2 2022 was driven by significantly worsened past performance.