Romania’s Ministry of Defence has requested a record budget for 2026, seeking 57 billion lei in direct allocations — equivalent to 2.81% of GDP — as well as 112 billion lei in commitment appropriations to sustain long-term procurement programmes, such as the acquisition of F-35 aircraft and Abrams tanks. Only
While Hungary expressed enthusiastic support, several major European powers rejected Trump’s latest initiative, the so-called Board of Peace.
In Poland, many fear the country could be caught between two fires if the United States were to take concrete steps toward acquiring Greenland.
Fiscal autonomy and access to EU funds allow Polish cities to develop dynamically, while Budapest and other Hungarian cities are constrained by the solidarity contribution.
Contrary to initial interpretations, Czech ammunition deliveries to Ukraine have not been suspended and are continuing.
Only Poland has strong structural reasons for concern, while Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia stand to benefit from expanded industrial exports.
Using fake advertisements featuring real public figures, they defrauded hundreds of people, in some cases of sums running into several million.
The aftermath of Trump’s Venezuela move remains unclear, but CEE states are likely to be impacted indirectly by oil prices and EU sanctions.
Can CEE develop a realistic policy response that shields the region from Europe’s structural decline?
Poland’s economic success lies in consistent reforms and smart EU fund use, while Hungary and Romania followed more volatile development paths.
Warsaw has opened the city’s new waste-to-energy plant, which can incinerate over 300,000 tons of solid waste annually, nearly one-third of the city’s total waste production.
Poland’s education system, reformed in the 2000s, faces a new overhaul, fueling tensions between the government and the right-leaning president.
Despite expectations, the EU–Mercosur deal was not signed and stances of CEE countries remain divided.
Administrative interventions are used to curb inflation in numerous CEE countries, with Hungary adopting the most market‑interfering measures.
Recent corruption revelations in Ukraine and institution restructuring in Slovakia brings renewed attention to anti-corruption bodies in CEE.