Monthly Report No. 4/2021

Chart of the month Race to vaccinate facing stumbling blocks by Olga Pindyuk Opinion Corner COVID-19 and the precarious ‘normality’ of the EU by Hubert Gabrisch The sequence of economic crises since 2008, of which the COVID-19 pandemic is but the most recent, has exposed a ‘trilemma’ in the EU’s response to these crises. Unfortunately, there is no concept for resolving this trilemma and rendering the union more resilient. This could be fatal for the EU. Trade developments in EU-CEE and Austria during the COVID-19 pandemic by Oliver Reiter The international trade flows of EU-CEE countries and Austria were profoundly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing policy responses (such as lockdowns). They plummeted in the first half of 2020, but climbed back in the second half. In terms of products, the imports and exports of fuels decreased the most, followed by cars. By contrast, the pandemic has pushed up demand for the import of medical products and equipment, most of which has been sourced from China. COVID-19 and sanctions policies by Ivan Timofeev COVID-19 has not significantly altered the existing sanctions regimes, and relatively few pandemic-related policy steps have been taken in this area. Although some humanitarian exemptions have been made, these have been rather limited in nature. The use of sanctions has thus remained part of the foreign policy arsenal, despite the pandemic – indeed, it has even increased the risk of sanctions, above all in the US. Monthly and quarterly statistics for Central, East and Southeast Europe