I had the privilege of recording a podcast series with Geraint John, editor-in-chief of CPO Agenda, last week. In Part #1 - The Global Economy: Is anyone benefiting? -  we discussed the who is to blame for the current crisis and potential “winners & losers” in Europe. Coming hot off the heels of the G-20 meetings in London, as well as recent accusations by British PM Gordon Brown that the US caused the meltdown, I was interested to see if the mood across Europe was all grim … or if the zero-sum-game rules apply and opportunities will emerge in coming months for some EU nations, companies and industries.

Based in London, Geraint has his finger on the pulse of current sentiment there, which is to say he’s seen what the impact of the recession has been in The City, where about 10% of GDP comes from financial services. That sector has obviously been rocked, but as Geraint pointed out, the recession is now rippling through “the real economy” along high streets throughout the UK and Europe.

Perhaps the most interesting insight Geraint had to offer was in shooting down the perception that this recession is disproportionately hitting Eastern Europe. After years of immigration from Eastern Europe to open, economically booming cities like London and Dublin, many people are returning home. Geraint presumes that this is due to greater opportunity in their Eastern European homelands than the immigrants were finding in Western Europe. In essence, jobs are disappearing in Western Europe and the prospects of finding new, gainful employment are better in countries such as Poland.

For an example, we need look no further than Dell. After years of high-profile, high-wage manufacturing in Ireland, Dell announced they were shifting operations to Poland. Geraint chalks this move and others like it up to a re-discovery of nearshoring, a practice he believes was”neglected to some extent but that’s beginning to change.” The recession, he believes, will “cause companies in Western Europe to look more at opportunities close to home, and I think those companies will benefit medium to long term.”

It’s far too early to stop the clock and declare who won or lost, but if the recession results in greater efficiencies for companies - in the form of nearshoring - we may all come out the other side of the recession with room to grow in those emerging markets.

You can listen to the full podcast - The Global Economy: Is anyone benefiting? - here or check out the series here.