If not partly or fully owned by the state, like utility and oil companies, the largest companies in the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) countries – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia – are mostly foreign-owned and typically operate in the automotive, retail and electronics sectors. They are highly productive and prosperous, driving their
The Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of the Czech ticket seller Kiwi.com against Ryanair in a dispute over Kiwi’s practices for handling passenger data. The legal win is a boost for the Czech company amid tensions with Ryanair which have seen the carrier threatening
Bulgaria will hold both presidential and snap general elections in November amidst political polarization and uncertainty that are stalling badly needed recovery aid from the European Union. On Thursday, the country’s parliament voted 152-0 with 25 abstentions to schedule the presidential vote on November 14. President Rumen Radev is
Romania’s government coalition is in major crisis after the dismissal of the country’s justice minister, Stelian Ion, by prime minister Florin Citu. After suffering two minister losses recently without prior notice, junior coalition party USR PLUS are calling on the senior coalition party, the National Liberal Party (PNL)
Amid the growing COVID-19 Delta variant threat in Europe, the Romanian government wants to boost its vaccination campaign. Currently, Romania, along with Bulgaria, has one of the lowest vaccination rates across the European Union with only 26.3% of the population fully vaccinated. With the school year about to start,
Hungary hosted a major airshow over the weekend, with the participation of dozens of military aircraft from across Europe. The Kecskemét Airshow featured aircraft and helicopters recently purchased by the Hungarian military, like the Airbus H145, Gripens, Falcons, and Zlin training aircraft. British and Italian Eurofighter 2000s were also present,
Two watchdog groups say global tech giants are spending nearly EUR 100 million every year – the biggest lobby spend for any industry – in an attempt to to influence digital regulations within the European Union, rules that could cut into their business. That’s according to a study of where and
Members of the Estonia’s parliament on Tuesday elected the director of the national museum as the Baltic country’s new president. The successful vote took place following an inconclusive first-round vote on Monday. On Tuesday, Estonian National Museum director Alar Karis gained the support of 72 parliamentarians in the
“Why risk a good relationship with the US and elicit yet another conflict with Brussels?” one might ask when pondering a bill, called “Lex TVN,” recently submitted to Poland’s parliament. One likely answer is that the Polish ruling party wants to secure its victory in the country’s next
Stricter COVID-19 health requirements are set to go back into effect on US citizens traveling to Europe, with an announcement likely to be made today. Now, those coming from America who are unvaccinated must once again undergo covid testing and/or quarantine when entering the European Union. Still, individual EU
Hungary has floated the idea of a tripartite agreement to supply Ukraine with natural gas flows through Hungary via liquefied natural gas (LNG) received at the terminal on the Croatian island of Krk. Following a meeting with his Croatian counterpart in Budapest, Hungary’s minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
A new study finds that the Czech Republic still has the most favorable conditions for manufacturing among countries in Europe. Worldwide, the country ranks 5th, behind China, India, the United States and Canada. The result is derived from a study, entitled Manufacturing Risk Index, carried out by the real estate
As in the rest of Europe, the cost of both buying and renting property has gone up in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE). Emerging Europe observes that within the region, the highest increases both for rental and purchase are being seen in Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and Estonia. One analyst notes
The Nord Stream II (NSII) natural gas pipeline will be completed, despite political opposition from Ukraine, Poland and the US – but a court challenge to how it operates may be another sticking point for the USD 11bn natural gas pipeline, which will deliver 55bcm of natural gas to Germany. That
Hungary will start producing Sputnik V, the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, in the city of Debrecen starting at the end of 2022, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and Hungary’s minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, announced at a joint press conference in Budapest on Tuesday. Hungary is