Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will this week commence a process of complete isolation from Russia and Belarus, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mustafa Nayem announced on Monday. In a letter sent to the ministries that oversee infrastructure in each of the four countries, the Ukraine government suggested the
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán secured his fourth consecutive term with a landslide victory in Hungary’s national elections on Sunday. Orbán’s Fidesz party secured 53% while the United for Hungary six-party opposition alliance received only 35%. The margin of victory was beyond predictions, as the opposition alliance had
Austria will delay its controversial mandatory vaccination programme by two months until April for technical reasons, electronic health record office ELGA GmbH, which is overseeing the process, announced Friday. The news came as scepticism rose in Austria’s epidemiological and academic communities regarding the programme. Karl Stoger, a member of
Hungarian Family Minister Katalin Novak accepted ruling Fidesz’s nomination for her to become president of Hungary on Tuesday. Novak, 44, tweeted “To represent Hungary, to serve the whole Hungarian nation – I am preparing for this challenging task with faith, spirit and heart. I respectfully accept the nomination as President
The European Commission (EC) granted conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the Nuvaxovid jab on Monday after it was greenlit by the European Medicines Agency. The US-developed vaccine joins Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson on the list of EU-approved jabs. “This is our first protein-based vaccine”, Stella Kyriakides,
Bulgaria had a 32.9% increase in agricultural labour productivity (ALP) in 2021, the highest rise registered in Europe, according to new agriculture data published by Eurostat. ALP is the net-value added by agricultural goods and services by the equivalent of a full-time worker, presented in real terms adjusted for
The Balkans region of south-east Europe has attracted at least 135 China-linked projects worth at least EUR 32 billion in the last decade, according to a new report by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network BIRN. In a wide-ranging investigation entitled “China in the Balkans: Controversy and Cost”, the outlet found
“I am convinced that Bulgaria will be a totally different place four years from now,” Kiril Petkov pledged on Monday, when he was sworn in as prime minister. Petkov, who served as minister of economics in the recent caretaker government and then ran on a “zero tolerance for corruption” election
Slovakia has by far the lowest wealth inequality in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with a Gini score of 50.3, the Global Wealth Report 2021 published by the Credit Suisse Research Institute reveals. Slovakia even ranks as having the lowest wealth inequality in Europe
Dimitar Kovachevski is set to become North Macedonia’s next prime minister after the ruling SDSM party voted him as its new leader on Sunday. The 47-year old economist and deputy finance minister defeated two other contenders for the post. Kovachevski will soon also replace his ally Zoran Zaev as
Eastern Europe will be high on the agenda during France’s six-month EU rotating presidency tenure which will commence in under three weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron underlined on Thursday. Without specifically naming Poland and Hungary, Macron called the rule of law “non-negotiable” for the EU and urged countries to
Czechia’s Pirate Party candidate for foreign minister Jan Lipavsky met President Milos Zeman, who reportedly opposes his appointment, on Tuesday ahead of the formation of the new government. Ministerial assignations have been delayed since the incoming coalition parties beat former prime minister Andrej Babis in early October, in part
Every country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has increased its research and development (R&D) intensity over the last decade, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Poland and Czechia were the regional frontrunners from 2010-20, as they both increased intensity – i.e. R&D expenditure as a
After 20 years of fierce debate, the plan to construct a EUR 2 billion stretch of ring-road on Vienna’s north-eastern outskirts has been cancelled after scientists warned against building a motorway tunnel underneath a nature reserve. Austrian Climate, Environment and Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler announced the kiboshing of the
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the importance of strengthening Transatlantic unity at the NATO Foreign Ministerial in Riga, Latvia on Wednesday. NATO billed the summit as “30 Allies (meeting) to discuss the situation in and around Ukraine, Belarus, lessons learned from NATO’