Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will travel to the Netherlands this week to open a new terminal, according to an agreement made in June. “On Thursday, I am going to the Netherlands to ceremoniously open a new LNG terminal, thanks to which the Czech Republic will have an alternative in
European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said the EU’s EUR 29bn investment package for the Western Balkans “has the potential to transform the region and boost its economy to a level of prosperity never seen before”, at the official opening of the Open Balkan Summit in Belgrade on Friday. A functioning
A total of five individuals including a top Croatian lawyer and an executive at energy firm INA have been charged with defrauding the company by reselling gas abroad at ten times the purchase price. According to the charges, the group caused financial damages to INA – a Croatian subsidiary of Hungarian
Hungary’s National Atomic Energy Authority (OAH) has granted a partial licence in connection with the expansion of the country’s only nuclear power plant in Paks, central Hungary, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto confirmed on Friday. The OAH announced its decision on the “Paks II” project on its website
Bulgaria has resumed discussions with Russian state energy company Gazprom regarding the country’s natural gas supplies, interim Energy Minister Rossen Hristov announced at a press conference late last week. Hristov, who is serving in Prime Minister’s Galab Donev’s caretaker government ahead of an election in the Balkan
Vodafone Group has agreed to sell its Hungarian subsidiary to the Hungarian state and government-affiliated systems integrator 4iG for HUF 715bn (EUR 1.75bn) in a cash purchase, the parties announced on Monday. According to the preliminary, non-binding agreement, 4iG would own 51% of Vodafone Magyarorszag, and the cash-strapped Hungarian
After months of deliberation, Estonia banned Russian citizens with tourist visas from entering its territory on Thursday, effective as of next week. In a move that Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas described as “necessary”, over 50,000 visas will be rescinded, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Estonia Foreign
North Macedonia and Albania nominally began their EU accession negotiations in Brussels on Tuesday, with detailed discussions slated to begin in the autumn. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “right after the Intergovernmental Conference today, the Commission and the negotiation teams from Albania and North Macedonia will start
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced Monday that he is in negotiations with Russia’s Gazprom regarding a long-term gas supply deal that would redirect all of Hungary’s shipments through the TurkStream pipeline. Fears that Russia will cut off energy supplies to Europe have been growing in recent weeks,
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte reacted to criticism on Thursday over her country’s acceptance of the transport of civilian-use goods from Russia to Kalingrad across its territory. “It would be irrational to continue to argue with EU partners” Simonyte said, after the European Commission (EC) on Wednesday clarified its
Albania may be about to announce the findings of exploratory fossil fuel drillings of such a magnitude that they will change Europe’s energy landscape, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Tuesday. “The signs show that we may be close to a very important discovery of gas and oil underground,
Croatia is ready to enlarge the capacity of the Adria oil pipeline as part of a long-term energy cooperation agreement to transit oil to Hungary and Slovakia, the countries jointly announced. Adria, also known as the Yugoslav or JANAF, is a crude oil pipeline in Croatia, Serbia and Hungary, which
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that banks, insurance companies, retail chains, energy firms, telcos and airlines in Hungary will have to pay a large proportion of what he called their “surplus profits” into two state funds in 2022 and 2023, on Wednesday. The money will be used to subsidise
Croatia is currently boosting its own gas security in preparation for next winter, Energy Minister Davor Filipovic announced. By 1 November, Croatia will have filled its only underground gas storage facility in Okoli, central Croatia, by up to 90%, Filipovic told state broadcaster HRT. Filipovic was speaking after a report
NATO will increase its number of forces in the Baltic sea if Sweden applies to join the defence alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Thursday afternoon. The NATO chief told Swedish SVT News that although NATO does not intend to enter the conflict between Russia and Ukraine – and therefore