Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu visited Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia from November 6-12, deepening bilateral ties in the Baltics and putting Asian geopolitics back up the agenda in Central and Eastern European (CEE). The three Baltic states have adjusted their policy toward People’s Republic of China (PRC) in recent
Ranked number four in the Global Fintech Index Ranking – and with more than 260 fintech companies and 7,000 professionals – Lithuania is an industry leader in continental Europe. Now the Baltic country’s government is seeking to secure this position with a new five-point plan. In 2014, Lithuania had 55
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is becoming increasingly diversified, ING Bank writes in a new report on Poland, Czechia, Romania and Hungary. This diversification includes economic outlooks, inflation profiles and reaction functions of central banks, the Dutch bank added in its report entitled “One region but very different stories for
Volkswagen is putting its plans to construct a new electric vehicle (EV) “gigafactory” in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on hold due to a decline in demand EVs, VW Group Chairman Oliver Blume revealed. The group, which already has three gigafactories, had been considering the construction of a fourth, with
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing between Hungary’s 4iG and China’s Huawei, both controversial companies close to their respective governments, has provoked anger from the US government. Huawei and 4iG say they want to play a pivotal role in the global race for high-speed 5G data transmission. The
The EU will finance Western Balkans (WB) integration reforms to the tune of EUR 6bn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Skopje, north Macedonia, on Monday. “These reforms will come with investment,” von der Leyen said during a press conference with North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.
The groundbreaking 500 kW NAS battery-based energy storage system (ESS) has been successfully put into operation at windows, doors and blinds manufacturer Rollplast’s plant in Kostinbrod, 15km from Sofia, west Bulgaria. At the Kostinbrod plant, two containerized units have been deployed and the NAS system in integrated with rooftop
The European Central Bank (ECB) left interest rates unchanged this week for the first time in over a year. Thursday was the bank’s first meeting with no change after increases back to July 2022 that pushed the ECB interest rate to a high of 4%. As inflation falls, the
Incoming Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico did not waste time to state his positions on the war in Ukraine when he spoke to members of the press in Brussels on Thursday, 26 October. “The conflict in Ukraine is not our affair, and we are not involved in it,” the Slovak
Revolut, the digital bank, has achieved a milestone by exceeding 10mn retail customers in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, adding 2.5mn clients in under a year. Romania stands out as the leader in the region, boasting over 3mn clients and a remarkable 39% growth in its customer
Despite being a climate and sustainability champion, the EU has been struggling to cement these values recently, and witnessed a close call during the passage of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting regulations. An attempt to obstruct the adoption of Europe’s ESG reporting rules was narrowly defeated, while
Chinese President Xi Jinping backed elevating relations with Hungary and after meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Beijing, called him a “friend”. Viktor Orban previously announced that he signed ten economic agreements in Beijing, where he arrived on Sunday to participate in the third summit of the One Belt,
Although Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) received the most votes of any single party at the weekend elections, it was the opposition Civic Coalition (KO) who were celebrating on Sunday night. Youth voters were mobilised and turnout was an unprecedented 74.38%, as three opposition groups won mandates
A gas project off Romania’s coast in the Black Sea has become the centre of a dispute between the country and its Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) neighbour Austria. The diplomatic standoff involves geopolitical and energy issues around the Neptun Deep gasfield, and also Austria’s steadfast opposition to
In a pivotal national election, Poland’s opposition leader, Donald Tusk, has declared victory, signaling the end of the Law and Justice party’s eight-year reign in power. The triumph of Tusk’s Civic Coalition is set to reshape the political landscape in Poland. Following the declaration of victory on