After pulling through a year of the credit crunch in good economic shape, some countries in central and eastern Europe could be hit hard by a "complete shut-down in international borrowing", warns Erik Berglof, chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

"I think things have definitely got worse in the global environment in the last few weeks. These countries could deal with rising borrowing costs and an [economic] growth slowdown coming from the US and western Europe, but a complete shut-down of inter-national borrowing - nobody can withstand that. They will be hit from several directions," said Mr Berglof in an interview.