Andy Carty, special advisor to the European PPP Expertise Centre, European Investment Bank

In a speech in Cape Town on 7th June 1966, Robert F Kennedy said: "There is a Chinese curse which says, 'May he live in interesting times'. Like it or not, we live in interesting times."

Like many allegedly ancient quotes, their origins are sometimes difficult to trace, but whatever its pedigree, it is undoubtedly well suited to the times we are living through in the financial markets generally, and in particular our own little enclave that is PPP.

Reading through this edition, you may be filled with hope at the promise of new markets and some of their great ambitions, but everybody knows that just at the moment, it is difficult out there. However, deals are closing and most European countries are continuing to support or even expand their PPP programmes. So it is in these times that the European Investment Bank and the European Commission have committed to supporting the public sector desire for a systematic way of sharing knowledge on PPPs by setting up the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC).

EPEC is designed to strengthen the organisational capacity of the public sector to engage in PPP transactions. It allows PPP taskforces in EU member and candidate countries to share experience and expertise, analysis and best practice relating to PPP proceedings. Staffed by experienced PPP transactors, EPEC synthesises the experience of its members, and disseminates this as practical and operational guidance.

Some parts of Europe's public sector have considerable PPP experience; however, this experience is not systematically shared, which results in a failure to learn lessons, both within and between countries. EPEC is designed to address these shortcomings. By making public authorities more effective participants in PPP transactions, EPEC's work will help to reduce PPP costs and increase deal flow, benefiting both the private sector and the public sector authorities that make up EPEC's membership.

Looking at this agenda, you may be forgiven for thinking that the major beneficiaries of EPEC would be countries with less experience benefiting from the lessons learned in more mature markets. But these 'interesting times' have seen many of the more mature markets from traditionally stable countries looking for new or interim solutions to ensure that projects continue to close, and the opportunity to share thoughts on possible initiatives has served to heighten the case for EPEC.

So at a time where there is much turbulence, it will be interesting to see how governments respond to some of the problems we are currently encountering in the market, eg. a lack of liquidity, banks finding it difficult to secure capital allocations, difficulties in the ability to syndicate deals.

At the time of writing, it remains to be seen whether other governments will respond to the difficult market conditions with formal announcements and packages (such as those recently announced by the French), or by supporting individual projects. Indeed, how governments will use and influence the banks that many of them have ended up taking a significant stake in is also an intrigue.

So for most of us trying to manage through the current position, and relishing some of the challenges it presents us with, we are left debating whether the 'interesting times' we are living through are a curse or a blessing.