An Occasional Paper published by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. This review analyzes the impact of the crisis on the economic outlook for the CIS region, the Mediterranean region, and for the individual economies (including the GCC). Although financial indicators lead to the conclusion that the CIS region is more exposed than the Mediterranean region, the latter is not sheltered and as vulnerable. The review points at combinations of vulnerabilities in both regions, which compound the risk of fiscal unsustainability and financial stress, relatively weak private sectors, high unemployment rates and weak automatic stabilisers, a shallow financial sector which hampered the rise of economic activity and thus welfare levels in the past, and a lack of buffers.