In the current debate on the impact of the financial crisis and austerity in the European Union it is often overlooked that it was not the South, but rather the Eastern periphery of the EU that was initially hardest hit by the financial crisis. Some countries in this region not only experienced the steepest recessions worldwide, but were also the first that had to turn to the EU and IMF for a bailout. This paper explores East European trajectories in and after the crisis. Focusing on three countries: Slovenia, Hungary, and Estonia, it seeks to explain the varieties of responses to the crisis, variations in their engagement with the EU, and the mixed picture of success and failure in crisis management.
