Geopolitics is leaving its mark on the arms race in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Countries are drifting further away from the concept of a united European armed force amid shifting geopolitical realities, mistrust and the revival of long-standing historical alliances. The rearmament of Europe lurched back onto the global
Bulgaria is preparing for a new general election in the spring, following the failure of the country’s Socialist Party to form a working government. The Socialists, who were given a third and final chance to establish a cabinet after the 2 October election brought no clear winner, announced that
Railway infrastructure managers from Czechia, Poland and the Baltics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in connection with building almost 2,800 miles of high-speed railway across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on Wednesday. The MOU was signed in Warsaw at the Railway Direction Days conference, and builds on a
More people in Estonia use online banking services than anywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), according to a new report by the official EU statistics office Eurostat. In Estonia, 83.36% of residents used digital banking in 2022, with Latvia close behind on 82.45%. Other countries high
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the oil pipeline project between Alexandroupolis, east Greece, and Burgas, east Bulgaria, will be signed very soon, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported Bulgarian Energy Minister Rosen Hristov as saying on Saturday. “The energy crisis in Europe,” Hristov said, “calls for even closer cooperation
Retired General Petr Pavel will face ex-prime minister Andrej Babis in Czechia’s presidential runoff vote after narrowly beating him into second place in an eight-candidate ballot on Friday and Saturday, 13-14 January. Pavel received 35.4% of the votes, to Andrej Babis’s 34.99%, missing the simple majority
As President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine nears its first anniversary and Russia regroups, the defence sector politics of Central and Eastern Europe are also in transition. Fighting is moving to the flatter eastern Donbas region, in the wake of Russia’s retreat from the outskirts of Kyiv. To
Hungary has finalised a deal to acquire Vodafone Europe’s Hungarian unit for HUF 660bn (EUR 1.6bn) in the largest state purchase since the change of regime in 1990. The Hungarian state made the deal through its holding company Corvinus, which has obtained a 49% stake, while government-linked company
The three Baltic countries are the worst hit by the wave of inflation in Europe, according to the latest flash estimate from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Latvia currently has the highest inflation in the Eurozone, as prices rose 20.7% year-on-year in December, slightly higher than in
Net4Gas, Czechia’s natural gas transmission system operator, had not received its contracted monthly payment from Russian state-owned Gazprom by 4 January, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela announced. Gazprom contracts made up 75% of the revenues of Net4Gas in 2021. In an official filing Net4Gas stated that it
The EU last year attempted to address the erosion of perceived democratic norms of the populist governments of Hungary and Poland, by withholding a combined EUR 138bn in funding from the two states. After this unprecedented move, 2023 will be the year when the EU decides on whether to make
Czechia received near universal acclaim as it completed its stewardship of the presidency of the Council of the EU, which will now be led by Sweden. Leading Czech daily Denik N, wrote that Czechia had “grown up” during its tenure, which ran from July to December 2022. EC officials give
The national grid operators of Poland and the three Baltic countries signed a cooperation agreement with their German and Nordic peers on new hydrogen infrastructure linking Finland to Germany via their countries, on Wednesday 14 December. The Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor signatories from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were Poland’s
Hungary and Romania were among the four signatories of an agreement to construct a 1,100km (685 mile) power line under the Black Sea within three to four years, in Bucharest Saturday. The cable will transit Azeri electricity, mostly from wind and solar energy, from Azerbaijan to the EU, via
The Council of the European Union adopted legislation Friday on releasing funds for Hungary’s EUR 5.8bn Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan that had been frozen for 18 months, dependent on the country meeting 27 anti-corruption and judicial reforms. Hungary’s steps have so far failed to convince
Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in Brussels on Thursday, as the European Council approved the recommendation made by the European Commission in October, and then voted through by the EU Council and General Affairs Council this week. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called
The centre-right New Unity party, led by Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, finalised a coalition deal with the new centrist electoral alliance United List and the conservative populist National Alliance, on Wednesday, 14 December. The parties will hold 54 of the 100 seats in the seven-party Saeima, which voted 54-37
A total of eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have co-signed a paper with four other EU member states that calls for the EU-wide cap on gas prices to be “significantly lower” than is currently being considered. Gas prices – and consequently inflation – have spiked in Europe since Russia’s
Next year the EU will provide Ukraine with EUR 18bn, circumventing Hungary’s veto, the Council of the European Union announced on Saturday. The loan to the war-torn country is aimed at short-term repairs of critical infrastructure and longer-term post-war reconstruction with an eye on future European integration. Czech Finance
Croatia will become the Schengen zone’s newest member on 1 January, the Council of the EU announced on Thursday, 8 December. Croatia will “take two important steps in its European integration, by joining both the euro and the Schengen areas”, noted Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, whose country has
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have discussed building a pipeline to transit Algerian gas when they unveiled the first power line linking their countries’ national grids Slovenia’s green energy mogul turned premier said the “expression of solidarity” would “allow Hungary to free itself
Wizz Air will serve 31% more passengers than Ryanair in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Caucuses this winter, according a new report that cites Official Aviation Guide (OAG) data. While the Hungary-headquartered airline runs 651 routes to, from and in CEE, this figure is 514 for Ryanair. That
Croatia has decided to introduce compulsory shop closures on Sundays, Croatian Employment and Family Minister Marin Piletic told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, 1 November. “The law will allow retail staff to spend Sunday with their families,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. According to the proposed amendments
Orlen Unipetrol, owned by Poland’s leading energy company PKN Orlen, will take over 143 petrol stations in Hungary and 39 in Slovakia, the Budapest Stock Exchange announced on Thursday, 1 November. The regional shake-up of retail fuel operators involves all of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, Poland, Czechia, Hungary
The European Commission (EC) opened the possibility for EU national leaders to punish Hungary in an upcoming vote on funding suspensions, on Wednesday, 30th November. In a twin move, the EC suspended a EUR 7.5bn cohesion funding payments, subject to 17 milestones that Hungary must meet and, more ambiguously,