Last updated: 21 may, 2009 - 12:07 GMT
Latvia hit hard by slowdown
For the Baltic state of Latvia, the boom times are over.
Zanete Jaunzeme-Grende is sceptical about some Western business values
Unemployment stands at nearly 14% and the Latvian economy contracted by 28.7% in the first quarter of the year compared to output in the previous quarter.
Now this country, on the north-eastern edge of Europe, is in deep economic trouble - the deepest in the European Union.
The BBC's Jonny Dymond, is touring the European Union ahead of next month's elections to the European parliament and has sent this report from Latvia.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
First broadcast 21 May 2009
~RS~a~RS~worldservice~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~13~RS~){kind=small}
bbc.co.uk navigation
BBC links
BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.