The EU will recommend that member states open accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), a candidate for membership since 2022, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, 12 March. Wary of Russian influence, von der Leyen said “We have realised that it is not enough to just wait
The highest shares of women tertiary education graduates in the scientific STEM subjects were recorded in Romania (42.5%) and Poland (41.5%), according to new data released by the EU official statistics office Eurostat on International Women’s Day on 8 March. STEM subjects include engineering, natural sciences, mathematics
Czechia will host a EUR 7.9bn electric vehicle (EV) battery in Karvina, east Czechia, funded by a foreign investor, the Czech government announced on Thursday, 7 March. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Wednesday that the project should improve the country’s employment figures, energy security and competitiveness, adding
A new, ground-breaking European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) has been announced by the European Commission (EC). The EC said EDIS “sets a clear, long-term vision to achieve defence industrial readiness in the EU (for) when they are needed and in the quantities that are needed.” The strategy includes new programmes
Czech photovoltaic distributor Raylyst Solar is the most rapidly growing company in Europe, according to the latest rankings by UK daily the Financial Times and German data platform Statista. Czech entrepreneur Jan Kamenicek founded Raylyst in 2018, and the company now delivers photovoltaic panels in Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Italy and
The rating for Romania’s long-term foreign currency debts is BBB- with a stable outlook, Fitch announced. According to the rating agency, the rating is due to Romania’s EU membership and associated capital inflows to support revenue convergence, external finances and macroeconomic stability. GDP per capita and human development
The indispensability of nuclear energy was one of few areas of consensus at the recent summit of the strained Visegrad Four (Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) in Prague on Tuesday, 27 February. Over two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more and more countries in Central and Eastern
Hungarian MPs approved a proposal on ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO with 188 in favour and 6 dissenting votes, on Monday, 26 February. Hungary was the last member of the defence alliance to vote through Sweden’s membership. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted “I welcome the Hungarian parliament’
The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries met in Prague, Czechia, for the first time in eight months, on Tuesday, 27 February. Created back in 1991, the V4 comprises around 65mn EU citizens, but for the last two years differences of opinion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in damage limitation mode after recent scandals and mass anti-government protests in Budapest, has proposed that Constitutional Court President Tamas Sulyok succeed Katalin Novak as head of state. Caucus leader for Orban’s Fidesz party Mate Kocsis said Thursday that the Hungarian premier had personally
As of next week Poland can begin to access the around EUR 60bn of previously suspended COVID:19 pandemic and green funding and some EUR 76.5bn from EU cohesion funds, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen announced after meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on
The Russian Justice Ministry on Tuesday, 20 February, named Radio Free Europe (RFE) as an “undesirable” organisation, effectively banning the US Congress-funded broadcaster from operating in Russia. Other media organisations pronounced as “undesirable” by Russia in recent years include Meduza, Novaya Gazeta Europe and Bellingcat. Anyone working for these organisations
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte is reportedly likely to succeed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in October, as the US on Wednesday 21 February joined the group of two-thirds of member countries who back his nomination. Although US President Joe Biden has not publicly backed Rutte, one of
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied against the presidential pardon scandal in Budapest on Friday evening. The catalyst for the protests is what the BBC described as “the biggest threat to (Hungarian) Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s rule since he returned to power in 2010”. Papal visit prompted controversial pardon
Blue Air’s restructuring plan has failed to restore its long-term viability and the Romanian state must return the EUR 33.84mn it gave to the Romanian airline during the pandemic, as it was incompatible with EU state aid rules, the European Commission (EC) announced. Romania bailed out struggling airline