Private sector wages in Czechia are rising by as much as 20%, Czech Radio found when it interviewed employment industry experts this week. High inflation and rocketing energy prices while the government has chosen to freeze salaries for civil servants, means companies are having to hike salaries to keep employees.
Increasing robotisation does not lead to more layoffs, according to a newly released study of worker flows in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Automation boost hirings in developing economies by 1-2%, contrary to the pervasive idea that robots are replacing human workers, according to the research into workplaces in
One well-known energy resource has great potential as an increasingly cost-effective source of clean energy: namely, hydrogen. It can play an important role in Europe’s CO2-free energy supply, through its low-carbon green and blue forms. Investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates that hydrogen could meet up
Bulgaria and North Macedonia premiers Kiril Petkov and Dimitar Kovacevski discussed establishing regular flights between their two respective capitals Skopje and Sofia, in the latter city on Tuesday. They also signed memorandums on finishing the incomplete railtrack in “Corridor VIII” between Skopje and Sofia, mutually supporting SMEs and developing a
Westinghouse Electric Company signed strategic partnership agreements with ten Polish engineering and construction firms in connection with its possible development of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, last Friday. The memorandums of understanding form part of the US company’s strategy to eventually construct not just one, but six nuclear
Estonia and Austria have the cleanest economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) according to the latest annual report by the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International (TI). Austria and Estonia ranked joint 13th worldwide, of the 180 countries surveyed, after scoring 74 out of 100 on TI’s 2021 Corruption
Household consumption expenditure decreased by an unprecedented 8% in the EU year-on-year in 2020, according to a new survey by the official EU statistics agency Eurostat. However as the EU-27 registered falls in household expenditure, only four countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were below the
Wholesale electricity prices reached all-time highs in Europe in the third quarter of 2021, spiking by 211% year-on-year, the European Commission (EC) reports. In Poland, Romania, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, average monthly prices for baseload power – the permanent minimum load that a power supply system is
PKN Orlen will establish nine hydrogen hubs for the production of low carbon fuel to be distributed around Poland, Czechia and Slovakia, the company announced. Poland’s strategic energy giant also plans to set up a network of 102 hydrogen refuelling stations in the three Central European markets as part
Adults in Austria will have to obtain COVID:19 jabs as of next month under measures MPs passed by 137 to 33 votes on Friday. This will be the first such national mandate in the European Union. In light of today’s vote, those who are not vaccinated in Austria
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will visit Moscow on 1 February to discuss Rosatom’s expansion of Hungary’s sole nuclear power station in Paks,” his top diplomat revealed in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS. “We would like to see the two new reactors operational by the
French President Emmanuel Macron singled out Hungary and Poland in connection with alleged rule of law violations as he outlined the priorities of France’s six-month rotating presidency that runs until the end of June. Speaking at the European Parliament, Macron invoked “the three historic promises of post-war
MEPs voted through the Digital Services Act (DSA) in a plenary vote at the European Parliament on Thursday afternoon. The DSA could serve as a “new global golden standard for tech-regulation”, MEP Christel Schaldemose said. A key inclusion in the DSA was a ban on online advertisements targeting minors,
The EU’s CO2 trading mechanism is a“roller-coaster” and fixed-price contracts would stabilise the situation and offer better conditions to electricity sellers, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told Parliament on Tuesday. Soaring energy prices in the Baltic country have sparked debate inside the progressive Estonian governing
Former Czech prime minister Andrej Babis could lose immunity from prosecution and face charges of misuse of EU funds when MPs vote on the matter next week, Euractiv reports. Rival party leaders have confirmed that their MPs will vote in favour of lifting Babis’s parliamentary immunity for the third
Price rises in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries were mostly above the Eurozone average of 4.9% in November, as inflation surged at the highest rate for 25 years, according to the latest data of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Lithuania had CEE’s highest year-
Poland’s right-wing government intends to ally with countries who also oppose the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ climate package, government spokesperson Piotr Muller said on Tuesday, Polish state broadcaster TVP reports. “We are building a coalition of countries that oppose some of these solutions as they shift the
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has suspended a EUR 200 million credit line towards the expansion of Hungary’s Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport over a failure to conduct any environmental impact assessments. The airport’s plan to extend the facility and increase passenger traffic by 50% over eight years
Serbia moved a small step closer to EU membership on Sunday when 60.5% of its voters cast their ballot in favour of changes to the judicial system in a referendum. President Aleksandar Vucic said the result represented “de facto progress on the rule of law, a theme which is
Universities in Poland, Austria, Czechia, Slovenia and Lithuania will all run projects under the EU’s new research and innovation programme which selected recipients this week. The European Research Council (ERC) will award a total of EUR 619 million to young researchers. Poland will receive eight grants, Austria six, Czechia
The liberal-conservative cabinet of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala was approved by a majority of MPs in a confidence vote that is obligatory for all incoming governments on Thursday. In all, 106 lawmakers backed Fiala’s government, while 87 opposed. Czech governments face this customary vote within 30 days
European commercial aviation enjoyed an upturn last month, as the number of flights in the EU climbed 130% year-on-year. While the number of commercial flights was 166,990 in December 2020, the industry saw numbers of 383,720 last month. Flight volumes were 24% below the pre-pandemic
Polish oil and gas firm PKN Orlen will sell refinery assets to Saudi Aramco and swap petrol stations with Hungarian energy company MOL to clear the way for a takeover of Grupa Lotos, it announced Wednesday. Saudi Aramco will pay USD 255 million for a 30% stake in Lotos’ refinery
The “Fit for 55” plan to further slash CO2 emissions may cost Poland around EUR 190 billion, according to analysts at the state-owned Polish bank Pekao. The EU’s original target had been to cut reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by the end of the decade, compared to
Taiwan will extend a USD 1 billion credit line to Lithuania as a gesture of solidarity with the Baltic country, and to help to offset the trade embargo that China has imposed on it. The fund aims to develop Lithuania’s biotech, finance, semiconductor and satellite industries. “We recognise and