Outlook in Latvia 'looks bleak'
As EU leaders prepare for yet another crisis summit at the end of the month, the outlook remains bleak for the region's smallest economies.
The opening of European borders, combined with the effects of the crisis, has meant that smaller towns in these countries are quite simply dying as young people leave to look for work elsewhere.
One of Europe's smallest countries, Latvia, has suffered more than most.
The BBC's Grainne Harrington reports.