The global credit crisis is forcing a rapid economic slowdown in the ex-communist states of central and eastern Europe, particularly in countries dependent on international financial flows, says the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

In its annual economic review published on Tuesday, the bank has slashed its forecast for the region’s gross domestic product growth next year to 3 per cent, from the 5.7 per cent it predicted in May, and warned there were risks of an even bigger downturn if international funding suddenly fell away.