Report on Survey of Local Economic Development Partnerships on the Impact of COVID-19

The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) Secretariat has published an assessment of the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economies in the Eastern Partnership following the first wave of the virus. The survey, which was conducted in June 2020, is based on the consolidated feedback of the Local Economic Development (LED) Partnerships in each country and presents the local perceptions of the impact of the epidemic on the local economy and its recovery prospects within a 2-3-year timeline.

The author of the assessment found among other things that the sectors generally most affected by COVID-19 to date do not include agriculture but instead the most negative consequences have been felt by tourism and food services. Even if agriculture in particular has not been badly hit by Covid-19, the priorities for future investment are focused on sectors that are generally of current importance to the local economy – chiefly, agriculture and tourism. Besides, LEDPartnerships with high levels of grey economy have a significantly more negative estimate of the impact of Covid-19 to date.

The main audience of the report is representatives of Local Governments in the EaP countries, but also national and regional authorities as well as national and international donors, who can get knowledge on how they can assist in revitalisation of the economy in the territories.