The expansion of the European Union (EU) into Central Europe has accelerated the need for regulatory reform in the European and Central Asian region.

FIAS work in Europe and Central Asia has been evolving to take account of the accession of 10 Central European countries into the EU, the preparations for Southeast European countries for EU accession, and the need for more focused attention on the poorer regions of Eastern Europe and the Central Asian Republics. FIAS has strengthened its partnerships with other units in the World Bank Group, including the Private Enterprise Partnership (PEP) and the new PEP-SE for South East Europe. During the last year, FIAS and PEP-SE made preparations for a joint program, building on the past work of FIAS and the former Southeast Europe Enterprise Development (SEED) program. The new joint program will focus on the business enabling environment, reform of business regulations, and development of institutional capacity for on-going regulatory impact assessment in the countries of the region.

Examples:
1) In Russia, a series of comprehensive diagnostics concluded that the most important constraints to private sector development related to access to commercial land and real estate. Lack of transparent and defensible property rights for immovable assets deprived businesses of collateral needed to finance operations and made firms susceptible to extortion by municipal authorities since most land remains publicly owned. FIAS is assisting the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the “champion of reforms” in land and real estate in Russia, in drafting a law on privatization of plots of land under privately-owned enterprises.

2) In Armenia, FIAS worked to analyze the country’s collateral laws and the newly established collateral registry, and agreed on an action plan to enhance access to finance. FIAS also plans to help the government streamline administrative procedures and establish capacities for better regulations.


Past Projects:
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For more information about the region, please contact the Regional Program Coordinators: Jackie Coolidge [Europe] and Gokhan Akinci [Central Asia, Caucasus, and Turkey].

For more information about FIAS' program in Russia - Russian and English