Mapping COVID-19: The Socio-Economic Impact. The Future of Skills in the EU Neighbourhood. Coping with COVID-19 [July 3, 2020 Update]

All countries in the EU Neighbourhood and Central Asia have been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak to a greater or lesser extent, with overall lower infection numbers compared to some of the EU Member States, although issues of under-reporting may impact on the reliability of data. All countries, apart from Belarus and Turkmenistan, made similar decisions as regards their education and training systems, including closing schools and training providers as well as shifting to distance digital learning tools and preparing teachers and trainers to use them. Nevertheless, measures adopted in the economic field have been diverse -- from full lock down, which was in place in several countries for several weeks, to partial limitations, constrained working hours and restrictions applied in certain sectors of the economy. The result of these measures on the socio-economic status of the EU neighbourhood and Central Asian countries have been quite similar. In May 2020, many countries gradually began to lift restrictions, but overall, economic recovery will need to wait until 2021, assuming the second half of 2020 will not bring additional stress on already fragile economic and social issues. Businesses and consumers remain prudent and a V-shaped economic recovery is rather unlikely. Expectations and estimations vary from diverse institutional sources, increasing the level of uncertainty about the pace and type of economic recovery that will occur worldwide. This paper reflects the socio-economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, and key policy responses as of July 2020. It includes key trends and developments in the partner countries covered by the European Training Foundation.