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
With energy-intensive industries to sustain, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is turning to nuclear power to simultaneously meet energy needs and climate targets. Nuclear looks set to be around 50% of the energy mix of several CEE countries within years. The war in Ukraine transformed Europe’s energy landscape, and
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be the only EU premier present at China’s third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, 18 October, according to local media reports. Orban will also give a speech at the event, his press officer Bertalan Havasi told Hungarian website Telex. “Before
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called a decision by Ukraine to remove OTP from the International Sponsors of War list “a step in the right direction”, and said the Hungarian bank’s inclusion had been “unfounded, deceitful and laughable”, on Wednesday 4 October. Hungary’s top diplomat said he invited
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared that he was happy after holding discussions with International Monetary Fund experts after their annual visit from 25 September and 4 October. According to Romanian Finance Minister Marcel Bolos the IMF had advised the government to crack down on tax evasion. The IMF overall
The foreign ministers of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia have published a joint article calling for “several concrete steps to be taken without further delay” regarding the expansion of the EU, including the commencement of accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) by the end of the year. In the joint
US nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric and US engineering firm Bechtel officially announced a collaborative agreement for the design and construction of Poland’s inaugural nuclear power plant in Lubiatowo-Kopalino, Pomerania, north Poland, on Thursday 21 September. Poland’s Climate Minister Anna Moskwa called the news “a significant milestone in
Slovenia will increase its defence budget to reach 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, a significant increase from the current 1.35%, Slovenian Defence Minister Marjan Sarec announced at the SOBRA international fair in Gornja Radgona, north Slovenia, on Thursday. In 2023 the defence budget of Slovenia,
Left-wing nationalist populist party Slovak Social Democracy (SMER-SD) is predicted to secure the most votes at the general election on Saturday, 30 September. The party is led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose last government fell in 2018, a watershed year for Slovak politics, after the murder of journalist
The future of a multi-billion dollar Budapest-Belgrade rail construction has been thrown into doubt after Hungary redirected its equipment and workforce to address a deteriorating railway line between Budapest and Gyor, west Hungary. According to reports, the Chinese have ceased financing the construction, and their employees halted work. Companies owned
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday 18 September issued a warning to Austria, stating that if Austria does not remove its veto on Romania’s Schengen accession bid by December, Romania will take the matter to the EU Court of Justice. Austria has been blocking the entry of Romania
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have come under criticism from the international community including the EU, Ukraine and Germany for extending prohibitions on Ukrainian agricultural imports. German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir on Monday, 18 September, told the countries: “You show solidarity when it suits you. When you don’t like it,
Evika Silina asked to be judged by her achievements, as she became Latvia’s new prime minister and its second-ever female premier on Friday, 15 September. Silina, 48, is a member of the centre-right party Jauna Vienotiba (New Unity) party that won Latvia’s general election in late 2022 and
A section of the Rail Baltica rail project connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania faces a significant cost escalation, potentially reaching up to four times the initial estimate made six years ago, according to a new report by Latvian Television’s “De Facto” programme. As Latvia presently uses trains from the
The number of cars with a hybrid drive sold in Czechia increased by almost 41% to 25,987 in the first eight months of the year, according to current data from the Czech Association of Automobile Importers. Of these, plug-in hybrids sales grew by 69%, to 3,566 cars, while