IMF lowers growth forecasts for European developing countries, including Serbia

The recovery of emerging countries in Europe will slow down this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said April 8 and warned that further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine may endanger that region.

"Despite a positive development of the situation in developed countries in Europe, the recovery of European emerging countries is expected to slow down a bit in 2014," France Presse cited the IMF as saying in its latest report.

In that way, the IMF has lowered the 2014 growth forecast for that region from projected 2.75% in October 2013 to 2.4 percent, foreseeing a growth of 2.9% in 2015.

According to the Fund, this slowdown is expected to take place primarily due to a low economic growth of Turkey, whose economy is the largest in emerging Europe.

There are seven members of the European Union in the category of developing countries - Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania - plus two countries that are not members of the EU - Turkey and Serbia.

Among the European developed countries are Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

The only European emerging country that the IMF expects to remain in recession this year is Croatia, but its economy will return to the path of growth next year.