Down the Drain; Many of Eastern Europe's most talented graduates and professionals are seeking their fortune in the West. Can their economies withstand the brain drain?

Byline: William Underhill (With Katka Krosnar in Prague)

Eastern Europe is losing its youth--not to age, but to the West. More than 60,000 citizens have quit Latvia since the country joined the European Union two years ago, opening up the labor markets of its neighbors. Every day thousands more opportunity seekers head for the airport and perhaps a new life. And they're not all plumbers: Teachers, doctors, computer programmers and college graduates--key players in any successful economy--are fueling a brain drain that threatens some of the continent's most fragile economies. "This is freedom and you can't say people are doing anything wrong," says Raita Karnite,