Cybersecurity, data-driven finance and the digital euro – on what principles will the future digital payment ecosystem be based? Data sharing, digital central bank money and the fight against increasing cybercrime were among the central issues regarding transformation of the digital payment market, according to speakers at the CE Digital Payments
Hungary will find out whether it will receive its EUR 7.2 bn pandemic recovery fund payment on 22 November, Bloomberg reports, citing inside EU sources. After over a year of discussions, in September the European Commission (EC) froze the funds due to concerns regarding the rule of law in
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is one of the fastest growing regions in Europe by enterprise value and has grown by 760% since 2017, according to the latest annual report by Dealroom.co. The Amsterdam-based startup and tech data company found three main takeaways from its research of regional venture
“Now we have decided to atomise Polish energy: two nuclear power plants will be built, one in cooperation with the USA and the other with South Korea,” Poland’s ruling party PiS Chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced in Suwalki, north-eastern Poland on Saturday. A third reactor is also planned, Kaczynski revealed,
Nokian Tyres will build a EUR 650mn passenger car tyre factory in Oradea, western Romania, creating around 500 jobs, it announced on Tuesday, 1 November. The tyre plant will have an annual capacity of six million units, with room for expansion, and will also be home to a logistics centre
Household electricity prices rose year-on-year in the first half of 2022, from EUR 22 per to EUR 25.30 per 100 kWh on average, according to the latest report by Eurostat. Meanwhile households across the bloc saw gas prices climb from EUR 6.40 to EUR 8.60 per 100
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed a strategic partnership agreement and discussed responses to the energy crisis in Budapest on Thursday. A key point on the agenda was the possibility of transiting electricity from Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania. Orban said a
The tensions around the burgeoning relations between Taiwan and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will be on the agenda when US president Joe Biden meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Bali today (Monday 14, November). Last Monday Lithuania opened its trade office in Taiwan, the same day that the 23-million
Estonia’s Sõrve peninsula area looks set to be the location for the major Estonian-Latvian hybrid offshore wind farm project ‘Elwind’, according to a feasibility study. The total capacity of the planned project will be 700MW to 1GW, and annually will provide over 3 TWh of energy, improving energy security
Czech-founded WAG Payment Solutions PLC announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to fully acquire Grupa Inelo SA, a leading fleet and work time manager in Poland and Slovenia, for up to EUR 306mn. FTSE 250 company WAG, also known as Eurowag, runs a digital platform that processes fuel and
Romanian lorry drivers urged their government to “relentlessly lobby” for the country to join the Schengen zone on Monday, asserting that preventing lengthy delays at its border with Hungary would increase freight volumes by around 20%. On Monday, Europa 2002 Haulier Employers’ Association chairman Adrian Pop echoed the sentiments of
The loan-book performance of banks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is set to worsen as interest rate hikes take their toll on the loan repayment capacity of borrowers, according to a report released by Moody’s on Thursday. The credit rating agency notes that although CEE region’s inflation
MEPs backed Bulgaria and Romania joining the Schengen zone in the coming months by an overwhelming margin on Tuesday. Of the 639 members of the European Parliament (EP), 547 voted in favour of the proposal to 49 against and 43 abstentions. After the vote, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca tweeted
Passenger car production was up 21.2% year-on-year, to 381,971 units, in Romania in the first three quarters of 2022, according to figures released Monday. Of these 230,078 unites were Dacia and 151,893 Ford models, the Romanian Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACAROM) reported. The figures represented a rise
Organized by Mastercard for the second year in a row, the Central Europe (CE) Digital Payments Summit 2022 on 20 October will provide an industry forum for discussion and an exchange of ideas on the region’s pressing financial market issues, such as ongoing disruptions and innovation in the financial
The Romanian Energy Ministry has launched a renewable energy tender call worth EUR 457.7mn for projects totalling 950MW capacity, which will be open to wind and solar with the added possibility of links to storage. Some EUR 372.7mn will go to projects over 1MW, and EUR 75mn to
Czechia and Qatar signed bilateral agreements on Wednesday, as the Gulf state announced that it will open its first embassy in the Czech capital of Prague in the next few months. Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim met Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague, and said mutual relations will be explored
The forint rebounded against both the US dollar and euro late Monday, on news that Russian-state-run energy company Gazprom has agreed not to collect payment on Hungary’s gas usage this winter. As per the deal, announced by the Hungarian Energy Board MVM earlier Monday, Hungary can delay payment for
Latvia’s ruling centre-right party Jauna Vienotiba (New Unity) was the clear winner in the country’s general elections at the weekend with around 19% of the vote, as Russian minority parties dropped out of parliament, with 99% of the votes counted on Sunday. The Greens and Farmers Union came
As national currencies shed value across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on Thursday, the Hungarian forint fell hardest, to historic lows of 423 to the euro and 437 to the US dollar. The forint led a slump in eastern European financial markets as worries over the fallout from Russia’s
Polish officials symbolically commissioned the Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline with Norway on Tuesday, a day that turned out to be epochal for energy in Europe. With an annual capacity of ten billion cubic metres, the pipeline opens a new North Sea channel for Norwegian gas imports via Denmark. “The
German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) may close its plants in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) if the natural gas shortage persists beyond this winter, procurement manager Geng Wu said. Volkswagen will consider bringing factories closer to the point of sales, in the medium-term, Wu added, citing the worldwide shortage of microchips
Hungarian Sinologist Tamas Matura argued in his recent report for CEPA that China wields little influence in Hungary, despite the Hungarian government’s decade of support for Beijing in the EU. However, shortly after the release of the CEPA report, China’s CATL announced plans to build a EUR 7.
Onsemi inaugurated the expansion of its silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor fabrication plant in Roznov, east Czechia, on Wednesday. The USD 450mn investment will create 200 jobs and increase onsite SiC production capabilities 16-fold over the next two years. The Arizona-based semiconductor supplier makes SiC power devices for electric vehicles and
Slovenia will receive 3.26 billion euros in EU funding via a partnership agreement, the details of which it finalised with the European Commission (EC) on Monday, 19 September. The deal covers the EU’s current funding period of 2021-27. European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira said “Slovenia