The global economic crisis is affecting families and communities across the planet. With regions bearing the brunt of the crisis, affecting businesses, jobs and people generally, regional policies are very much part of the solution.

Has monetary union helped structural reform in Europe? The 2007 Economic Survey of the Euro area attempts an answer. On the one hand, well-functioning markets and stronger supply incentives would offer scope to better exploit the benefits of the euro, by taking advantage of more price transparency and lower international transaction costs.

When European Union heads of state and government met at a summit in Lisbon in 2000, they set the goal of making Europe “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.” That goal is far from being met, not least in tertiary education.*

Southeast European countries have made much progress in efforts to increase private investment in the region, but the level of achievement varies significantly from country to country. That is the conclusion of a new report, Progress in Policy Reform in South East Europe: Monitoring Instruments, presented by OECD Secretary-General Donald Johnston and Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South East Europe Erhard Busek at a meeting of government representatives in Paris in November to review progress on economic reform.

The economy of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was devastated during the 1990s, but according to the latest OECD economic survey of the country, reform since the end of 2000 has marked a sea change in policy that has already had a number of positive effects. Difficult decisions have been taken to implement some structural reforms, and the economy has been substantially liberalised and stabilised. Inevitably there are risks to the hitherto positive macroeconomic developments, especially in Montenegro that has relied heavily on foreign aid. Export-led growth may suffer from the economic slowdown in Europe, Yugoslavia’s largest market.

Investing in transition economies of eastern Europe was a heady trend of the early 1990s that promised so much but ended in disappointment and loss for many western companies. But there are signs of a healthy recovery in the region, including among home-spun enterprises. It may be time to take transition countries more seriously again.

Eight Southeast European states have pledged to abide by a list of common principles and practices aimed at encouraging private investment, from transparent policies and removal of trade barriers to good corporate government and integrity in public administration. This represents an “important step on the path … towards closer political and economic co-operation, as well as greater integration with the European Union and with the broader global economy,” said OECD deputy secretary-general Richard Hecklinger at the signing of a declaration to this effect in Vienna on 18 July.

Letter to the editor: Sir, Vincent Koen pronounces the euro to be a success, and argues that economic fundamentals suggest that the euro will appreciate against the US dollar over the longer term. I believe that such an assessment is premature: while the euro may appreciate in the medium term, its longer-term prospects look less robust.