Despite an overall downturn, the Central and Eastern European (CEE) start-up scene showed resilience in the first quarter of 2024, when it secured USD 11.8bn in investor funding. AI continues to attract significant interest, representing about 17% of global funding. Other key industries receiving investments in CEE include
Hungary will not be obliged to participate in military actions outside its territory or send money or troops to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after he met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Budapest on Wednesday, 12 June, ahead of the treaty organisation’s Washington Summit next month.
The European Commission (EC) published a draft package on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) imported from China, including tariffs of between 17.4% and 38.1% on manufacturers, in addition to the 10% they already pay, on Wednesday, 12 June. The EC wrote that it has “provisionally concluded that the battery
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony retained his post at last Sunday’s election, the Hungarian National Election Committee (NVB) confirmed on Friday evening after a recount of invalid votes. Last weekend the Hungarian capital’s liberal incumbent mayor received 371,466 votes, just ahead of LMP-Greens candidate and transport expert
One-third of the EU-27 member states held local or national elections in tandem with the European Parliament ballot on June 6-9. Of these, three were countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Romania’s June 9 local elections saw 41 county council president and
Hungary’s state-owned MVM Group has signed an agreement with Azerbaijan to acquire a 5% stake in the Shah Deniz natural gas field. The acquisition will propel Hungary’s gas security into a “new dimension,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a joint press conference in Baku with
Pro-European centrist parties performed well in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at the European Parliament (EP) elections held from 6-9 June, in contrast to elsewhere on the continent, where far-right parties surged. Tusk consolidates lead in Poland In Poland, the Civic Coalition (KO), led by Prime Minister
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico faced an unexpected setback in the EU elections against the opposition liberals on Sunday, following a recent assassination attempt that left him severely wounded, according to his party. An opponent of military assistance to Ukraine in its conflict against Russian forces, Fico, 59, had
The EU elections, which will be held from on 6-9 June, involve nearly 400mn voters across 27 countries deciding on 720 seats in the European Parliament (EP). The vote will decide who will lead the European Commission (EC), with EC President Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Chisinau, Moldova and Prague, Czechia, from May 28-31, to discuss energy, defence and the NATO summit in Washington DC scheduled for early July. In Chisinau, Blinken met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu to show support for the European country’s progress
Czech companies signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in connection with Korea’s Daewoo concerning the construction tender for a nuclear power plant in Dukovany, south Czechia, on Monday, 27 May. Daewoo Engineering & Construction (E&C) President Baek Jung-wan made the announcement at the Czechia-Korea Nuclear Engineering
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who recently described the current European Commission (EC) as “the worst one” ever, framed the June 7-9 elections as a decisive moment between peace and the spectre of war looming over Europe, at a large demonstration in Budapest on Saturday, 1 June. Orban called
Countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) made up five of the seven signatories states of a letter expressing concern over recent developments in Georgia to its Parliamentary Chairman H.E. Shalva Papuashvili sent on Friday, 24 May. In recent months, Georgia has witnessed political and social upheaval, as anti-
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda secured re-election on Sunday 26 May, according to official results, in a vote heavily dominated by defence concerns regarding neighbouring Russia. The electoral commission reported that Nauseda garnered 74.6% of the vote, with 90% of ballots counted following the polls’ closure on Sunday.
Romania’s Energy Ministry confirmed that it may partner with Serbia to build a third hydroelectric power (HEP) plant on the Iron Gates gorge stretch of the River Danube. The ministry was reacting to a report in Radio Free Europe that said the Serbian Energy Ministry had claimed that a
Romanian Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Stefan-Radu Oprea and Romanian Chemical Industry Association Romchimica signed a letter of intent regarding joint efforts in the country’s energy transition on Friday, May 17. The document will form the basis of collaboration for the development of initiatives and partnerships between
Skoda Group is to deliver 23 low-floor EMU electric trains to Czechia in a EUR 133mn order that it said will “substantially enhance both service quality and capacity”. RegioJet, the largest private railway carrier in Central and Eastern Europe, will use the trains on suburban and regional services in
Poland will invest PLN 10bn (EUR 2.35bn) in securing its eastern border against the rising threat of Russia and Belarus, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday, 18 May. Tusk said Poland is “starting a major project to build a secure border, including a system of fortifications, landscaping
Slovakia’s head of state and president-elect jointly called for calm in the wake of the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday 15 May. Fico was shot five times by Juraj Cintula in Handlova, central Slovakia, on Wednesday, at 2:30 pm, in the highest
North Macedonia’s right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party scored twin landslide victories in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday, 8 May 2024. After 7 years in opposition VMRO-DPMNE swept back to power as the 22-party coalition it led won 44% of the vote in the Balkan country’s parliamentary
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Hungary underscores the geopolitical importance of the growing bilateral friendship. China’s new investments in Hungary total EUR 16bn and are expected to reach EUR 30bn by the end of the year. On his first visit to Europe since the pandemic, Chinese
As Chinese President Xi completed his trip to Europe, he held a conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, with whom he had spent three of the five days. Although Xi failed to give concrete details, Hungarian officials said 18 agreements had been signed between their country and China, but
China’s Huawei and Hungary’s 4iG signed a letter of intent to establish a common cloud service platform for Hungarian companies and large Chinese and Asian companies with a presence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Budapest from 8-10 May
The EU will close its Article 7 procedure over democratic backsliding against Poland that was initiated in 2017 against the country’s nationalist government led by the former ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, 6 May. The EC could
Romanians have been consuming more than Hungarians, Budapest-based business website Portfolio writes, and now it has become clear why: wages were already higher in Romania than in Hungary last year. “Regarding purchasing power parity (PPP), 2023 was the first year when the wages of our eastern neighbour came before