Producers in Poland, Czechia and Moldova are rebranding locally and pursuing new strategies to stay afloat after the collapse of major foreign markets, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on premium alcohol.
Under the Hague Investment Plan adopted on 25 June, NATO members committed to raise annual defence-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. The 5% comprises 3.5% on conventional military capability and 1.5% on infrastructure, cyber-defence and civil preparedness; including support for Ukraine. cet
Hungary has now fallen to the lowest position in the EU for actual individual consumption (AIC), despite its starting position ahead of several regional peers two decades ago.
Polish Deputy PM and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in April that Poland’s defence strategy prioritises frontline support and rapid capacity building. He added that Poland “will not turn anyone away” from its training centres, including non-combat personnel.
In late May, Merz said Nord Stream 2 must stay closed to “weaken Moscow's war machine” and also declared that his government would “do everything” to prevent the pipeline from going online.ce
China's trade with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reached USD 142.3bn in 2024, marking a 6.3% year-on-year increase, surpassing China's overall foreign trade growth rate by 2.5 percentage points, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
The total marked a 4.
Nominal minimum wages in Romania and Bulgaria have more than doubled in the last decade, with the sharpest growth before 2020. Czechia and Slovakia now apply EU-aligned benchmarks for annual adjustments.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) gained new recognition in Dealroom’s 2025 Global Tech Ecosystem Index, with CEE capital cities Vilnius, Lithuania; Warsaw, Poland; and Zagreb, Croatia, named among the world’s top 100 emerging innovation hubs.
The index, released on 21 May, ranked 288 cities worldwide. While Paris and
Hungary and Slovakia have emerged as the most vocal opponents of two of the EU’s most consequential reform proposals: plans to phase out Russian energy imports and to overhaul the bloc’s long-term budget to prioritise defence, climate and digital transition.
EU mulls ban of new Russian energy contracts
In a new step in the cleaner transport transition, OMV Petrom has inaugurated Romania's largest electric vehicle (EV) hub with 34 charging points of up to 400kW on the A1 motorway near Miercurea Sibiului, central Romania.
The site is located on the Rhine-Danube Corridor - one of Romania’
Estonia has surged to second place in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, its best-ever result and the highest ranking among EU countries.
Estonia's ranking in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index is the highest ever achieved by a Central and Eastern European (CEE) country since the index&
Czechia has halted imports of Russian crude oil delivered via the Druzhba pipelinefor the first time in 60 years, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced in mid-April.
The milestone was enabled by the expansion of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), which connects the Italian port of Trieste to Austria and Germany,
Workers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) enjoy some of the lowest personal income tax rates in Europe, with Slovakia and Poland the outliers for individuals and families, according to a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.
The OECD Taxing Wages 2025 report analysed tax data and
Poland has launched a new national doctrine aimed at establishing the country as the dominant military and economic power in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the "Piast Doctrine" during a speech in Gniezno, central Poland. "Maybe today it is worth announcing
The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But while this marks a major milestone for the bloc, the picture in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is more complex, as