Twenty years after assisting former communist countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development faces new challenges in helping the emerging democracies of the Arab Spring

Set up to support former communist countries in their transitions to the free market, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development now faces a renewed mandate to assist the Arab Spring countries in their path to democracy and free markets. In the first of two blogs, Thomas Mirow, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, warns that despite the calls for change from post-revolution countries, the slowdown in the Eurozone’s economies means that there are far less funds available and fewer people in Europe who can afford their exports.