Anatoly Motkin interviewed Dr. Katarína Mathernová
Dr. Katarína Mathernová – Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Neighbourhood and
Enlargement Negotiations, prior to the Eastern Partnership online summit scheduled for June 18,
answered questions from Anatoly Motkin, founder and president of StrategEast. The conversation was
dedicated to the assistance provided by the EU to the countries of the Eastern Partnership in the fight
against the pandemic and its consequences.
According to Ms. Mathernová, the EU’s financial assistance to the Eastern Partnership countries is aimed
at three goals: the immediate humanitarian supply, assistance to the healthcare system and assistance
in eliminating the effects of the lockdown on the economy – providing liquidity for enterprises, including
small and medium-sized businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
Speaking about the recommendations of the European Union on ways to resume economic growth in
Eastern Partnership countries, Ms. Mathernová noted that the main thing is to continue carrying out
structural reforms in the economies and use the support of the European Union to “restart the
economy”.
Answering the question by Mr. Motkin on the prospects of partly transferring the production brought by
Western companies to China to the Eastern Partnership countries, Ms. Mathernová noted that
theoretically, such a perspective exists. Indeed, some Western companies after the pandemic thought
about moving production closer to the consumer, as part of the concept of nearshore (as opposed to
“offshore”). And if the countries of the Eastern Partnership can prove themselves to be reliable
partners: improve the investment climate, introduce rule of law, create enabling environment for
business, then they might be able to attract some of the industries that will be transferred from China to
nearshore”.
The full interview with Ms. Mathernová is available here.
