To this end, we are supporting Central European countries in their efforts to modernize and reform their financial sectors. Closer to home, in Russia, we are seeing yet another manifestation of the importance of sound fiscal management. We are focusing on helping countries to manage vulnerability to fiscal crises and external shocks. We are thus assisting countries in improving the efficiency of resource use in the public sector and ensure long term fiscal sustainability - a key objective that needs to be achieved before accession. We are heavily involved in pension reform initiatives, particularly in Hungary, but also in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and now Slovenia and the Czech Republic - in fact, many of the reforms will make those systems even more efficient than those of some current EU members.
Investors increasingly look around the globe to assess the most profitable investment opportunities.
And to enable banking and financial systems to intermediate capital productively, we have been working to upgrade the legal and regulatory framework in the financial sector and harmonize the legislation with EU directives. This also contributes to our crisis prevention work. In addition to our investment and analytical work, the Bank also provides adjustment lending to support the acceleration of reform to those countries that still need significant budgetary support. This has been particularly important in Bulgaria and Romania, where such loans are supporting further privatization of enterprises and banks, agricultural sector reforms, market liberalization and improving the legal framework for credit rights. All these reforms are essential to be able to compete in a single European market.