Are the EaP Countries Attractive to Investors? A Brief Analysis of the Financial, Institutional, Political and Fiscal Elements

• Published in: Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica 2021-01, Vol.17 (1)
• Main Authors: Alisa-Mihaela Ambrozie, Sergiu-Lucian Șorcaru, Topliceanu, Ștefan-Cătălin
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; fre
• Subjects: Corporate income tax; Corporate taxes; Economic development; Economic growth; EU membership; Financial incentives; Foreign investment; Governance; International relations; Investors; Literature reviews; Monetary incentives; Policy making; Profits; Tax rates
• ISSN: 2065-0175; 2067-340X

This article aims to analyze if the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) are attractive to investors in the period 2015-2019. These countries are interested in FDI and how to succeed in attracting as many investors as possible due to the increased chances of joining the European Union. To measure the attractiveness of the EaP countries it is used a quantitative approach through which the evolution of several aspects is observed. There were selected for analysis variables from a financial, fiscal, institutional and administrative point of view. The results reveal that the EaP countries have improved their investment climate and business environment mainly due to significant governance performance, fiscal and financial incentives and institutional progress. The most visible performances were recorded by Georgia and Armenia. The results demonstrate that only some of the EaP countries are able to attract investors and are prepared for EU membership from a fiscal, financial, institutional and administrative perspective. These facts are of interest to policy makers from the EaP countries and to European ones.