Estonia is top in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and seventh in the EU as a whole in the new European Commission (EC) Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) rankings for 2022. The Baltic country, often nicknamed e-Estonia, was also placed first in the EU for its digital public services.
Hungary’s currency, the forint, has in recent weeks plumbed all-time lows against the euro. Although currencies are dropping across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) due to the war in Ukraine and its resultant sanctions, the forint’s fall has been the region’s most precipitous. The fall of the
Bulgarian voters are set to go to the polls for the fourth time in two years after President Rumen Radev called an election for 2 October and then appointed a caretaker government on Tuesday. Galab Donev, a former employment minister began his two-month stint as interim prime minister on Tuesday,
The Hungarian government unveiled a number of energy-related measures at the weekend, in response to soaring prices and an impending autumn fuel crisis in Europe. In a decree announced Saturday, Hungary hiked from 25% to 40% its windfall tax on oil companies’ “surplus profits”. The cabinet is increasing its levy
South Korean defence manufacturers will sign contracts worth EUR 7.53bn with Poland before the end of the month, The Korea Economic Daily (KED) reported. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak confirmed the news on Friday afternoon. The companies involved in what may become a long-term bilateral relationship include Korean Hyundai
The EU annual inflation rate rose from 8.8% to 9.6% in June, the bloc’s official statistics agency Eurostat reports. The inflation rate in June last year was 2.2%. Inflation was highest in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and in the three Baltic countries in particular, with
North Macedonia and Albania nominally began their EU accession negotiations in Brussels on Tuesday, with detailed discussions slated to begin in the autumn. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “right after the Intergovernmental Conference today, the Commission and the negotiation teams from Albania and North Macedonia will start
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced Monday that he is in negotiations with Russia’s Gazprom regarding a long-term gas supply deal that would redirect all of Hungary’s shipments through the TurkStream pipeline. Fears that Russia will cut off energy supplies to Europe have been growing in recent weeks,
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said it is extremely important that the EU provide support to Africa, when he and his opposite numbers from Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Slovenia gathered in Budapest on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking advantage of the famine caused by his war in Ukraine,
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte reacted to criticism on Thursday over her country’s acceptance of the transport of civilian-use goods from Russia to Kalingrad across its territory. “It would be irrational to continue to argue with EU partners” Simonyte said, after the European Commission (EC) on Wednesday clarified its
The Hungarian government declared a state of emergency and ditched its flagship policy of subsidising domestic utility bills on Wednesday, as fears of a looming European energy crisis rise across the continent. The crisis meeting of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s energy cabinet on Wednesday was prompted, according to
The EU formally approved on Tuesday Croatia joining the Eurozone on New Year’s Day 2023, and proclaimed the development as the end of an “amazing journey” for the Balkan country. Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric declared Tuesday an “historic day” for the nation of 3.9 million people, which
The Hungarian government said on Monday that it will pass a parliamentary resolution condemning EU criticism of its refusal to participate in the plan to introduce a global minimum tax rate of 15%. The measure, which aims to create a global tax floor for multinational corporations, is backed both by
The Czech, Polish and Hungarian currencies all weakened against the major global currencies this week, as recession fears intensified globally, impacting emerging markets. As investor sentiment became more risk averse, investors have turned to the dollar, and the Polish zloty and the Czech crown both weakened against the greenback. However
Albania may be about to announce the findings of exploratory fossil fuel drillings of such a magnitude that they will change Europe’s energy landscape, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Tuesday. “The signs show that we may be close to a very important discovery of gas and oil underground,
The European Commission (EC) will cut Croatia’s maximum share of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) stimulus programme by around 13% due to the country’s unexpectedly strong economic performance last year. Croatia’s economy shrank 8.1% in 2020, the year that COVID:19 reached Europe,
Hungary had the highest proportion of solar technology in its electricity production in the EU last year, according to the Hungarian energy and public utility authority MEKH. Solar accounted for 11.1% of electricity generation in Hungary last year, MEKH announced on Monday, local business website Portfolio reported. Athough Hungary’
Surging energy prices pushed prices up across the EU in June, but the three Baltic countries have been hardest hit, according to according to a flash estimate by the EU statistics office Eurostat. Estonia had the highest inflation rate in the EU in June, at 22%, closely followed by Lithuania
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is trying to save his administration by persuading seven MPs to support his coalition in the wake of populist party There Are Such People’s departure. Former premier Boyko Borissov’s centre-right party GERB initiated a confidence vote on Wednesday, and accused Petkov of failing
Austria’s foreign and European affairs minister said he expects the countries in the Western Balkans (WB) to join the EU, after he met Serbian government officials in Belgrade on Monday, 13 June. Alexander Schallenberg added that he hopes Serbia and other WB states will align their stances on Russia
Inflation is endangering EU-funded infrastructure constructions across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and affected countries say the European Commission (EC) is not reacting fast enough. The EU’s structural investment scheme – which is widely distributed around CEE in seven-year cycles – has been hit hard by inflation, and the soaring prices
The European Innovation Council (EIC) will award grants or equity investments of up to EUR 17.5mn to six “high potential” startups from Poland, Estonia and Bulgaria, it announced Wednesday, 8 June. Poland had three grantees announced on Wednesday: Ecoplastomer, which develops technology for plastic and rubber waste, Camino Science,
MEPs are planning to protest the transfer of a EUR 35.4bn EU stimulus package to Poland, arguing that the country has not adequately addressed disputes over judicial independence and Rule of Law in the country. The European Commission (EC) last week approved Poland’s COVID recovery plan, despite a
Croatia has been given the go-ahead to adopt the euro from the start of next year, when it will become twentieth country to do so, and the first since Lithuania in 2015. Having received positive assessments of the ECB and the European Commission, the path for euro adoption is now
Croatia is ready to enlarge the capacity of the Adria oil pipeline as part of a long-term energy cooperation agreement to transit oil to Hungary and Slovakia, the countries jointly announced. Adria, also known as the Yugoslav or JANAF, is a crude oil pipeline in Croatia, Serbia and Hungary, which