Europe looks to return to normal as the first major international sport event, the UEFA 2020 football championship, is about to kick off this Friday, 11 June. While the continent’s ailing tourism sector is expecting some kind of boost, one wonders whether it is not too early to open
Hungary’s OTP Bank has acquired a 100% stake in Slovenia’s Nova KBM after signing a purchase agreement with former shareholders of Apollo Global Management (former 80% owner) and the European Bank For Reconstruction and Development (20% owner). The deal is the most significant acquisition in the history of
As in most countries in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy heavily depends on car production. In recent years, however, the sector has had to face challenges like the potentially growing market of electric cars, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. New European climate and
EU member states have approved a EUR 17.5 billion fund which aims to help some countries wean themselves from polluting industries like coal mining and others with high emissions, moving them towards green industries in the push to achieve net zero GHG emissions. The so-called Just Transition Fund (“JTF”
Several European “green” initiatives have provoked resentment in Hungarian government circles. The outrage is mainly due to the European Parliament having failed to endorse a European Council proposal on a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2023-2027. The debate is over the greening of direct payments
In a global effort against “tax avoidance,” finance ministers from the G7 countries meeting in London last weekend have agreed on overarching rules that will oblige multinational corporations to pay a greater share of their global tax obligations. As part of their deal, the G7, a grouping of some of
Slovakia has been a great beneficiary of automotive industry expansion in recent decades. However, its high exposure to the global car market, and the ongoing far-reaching transformation of the industry may endanger the country’s outlook in this regard and reveal weaknesses in Slovakia’s economic growth model. “This is
This week, Romania announced that it was ditching coal, thus joining the majority of EU member states that have made a pledge to phase out their coal industries. Romania’s plan sees a total coal phase-out by 2032. In the meantime, in 2022 the country will come up with legislation
A so-called “digital identity wallet,” which would grant access for all European citizens to public and private services through their mobile phones, was proposed by the European Commission on Thursday. The EU body argues the COVID-19 pandemic showed the need for more user-friendly online services. Via the proposal, the Union
One of the biggest car manufacturers of the world, the Czech Republic has a lot to lose if it does not adapt to the fundamental changes of the auto industry. But the country is confident it can host one of the gigantic battery plants of Europe, capitalizing on its skilled
With the aim of rolling out low carbon technologies, the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures is teaming up with the European Union to raise USD 1 billion in funding. The cooperation entails gathering private capital and philanthropic funds by Breakthrough Energy and combining them with EU community funding. The goal
On Tuesday, the EU agreed to new tax rules designed to increase the transparency of multinational companies with established operations in tax haven countries for the purpose of tax avoidance, but some NGOs say the rules don’t go far enough. According to the EU rules, such corporations whose worldwide
European investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies are way behind Chinese and American investments. In a report related to such competition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has concluded that the EU has an annual investment shortfall of up to EUR 10 billion. The EIB reports that China and
The EU has big plans to scale up battery production in Europe to make the major switch from fossil fuels to electromobility a reality by the end of the decade. But will the planned protectionist measures help achieve its goal? Following a unanimous decision last December by EU governments to
Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš should be indicted over charges of fraud involving European Union subsidies, according to a recommendation by Czechia’s national police, who made their announcement about Babiš on Monday. Prosecutors there said they had received an updated police investigation into his alleged involvement in fraud estimated
Usually, at this time of the year in Europe, everyone is already planning where they will spend their summer holiday. However, the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reinvent many areas of life, like vacationing habits. The European vaccination campaign has accelerated in recent weeks and the third wave of
The net sales of Hungary’s MVM Group amounted to HUF 1,835 billion last year, which is EUR 71,8 million higher than in 2019 and an increase of 91% compared to 2016, János Sum, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of MVM Zrt said told the press. Other numbers are
Central Europe’s largest solar plant has been inaugurated in Kaposvár, southwest of the Hungarian capital Budapest. The 100-megawatt solar power plant was built by China National Machinery Import & Export (CMC), a Chinese company investing HUF 36 billion. The Kaposvár solar power plant increases Hungary’s photovoltaic capacity by
The EU was unusually unified and prompt in condemning Belarus for “hijacking” the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair plane. The European Council has imposed new sanctions including banning Belarus’s airlines from using EU airspace and airports. Yet, it is still questionable whether tougher sanctions could force Lukashenko to change his
Lawmakers in some of the most influential EU member states say the Union’s Digital Marketing Act (DMA), set to regulate the actions of tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google, is simply too weak. A coalition of Germany, France and the Netherlands recently submitted a letter in which they
Two European airlines, Austrian Airlines and Air France, have had to cancel flights to Moscow after Russian authorities denied permission for them to divert around Belarus to be in line with new EU sanctions. Russia’s ambassador to Austria, Dmitry Lyubinsky, justified the move on Facebook, writing that the “politicization”
Slovenia’s prime minister, Janez Janša, is facing increasing pressure from the European Union as his country is poised to take over the European Council presidency. For one, he is alleged to be obstructing the work of the Office of the European Public Prosecutor (EPPO), a new EU office whose
In a joint statement sent to the European Commission, five member states have issued a call to establish stricter supervision of the use of biofuels in the EU. The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg made their demand following a number of fraudulent cases related to the sale of used
Pushed through by state secretary Norbert Izer and communicated by the Ministry of Finance as a success story, Hungary has reduced the tax rate on cryptocurrencies from 30.5% to 15%. The announced tax reform has, to some extent, been triggered by rising prices, although – independent of the government’s
Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fuelling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals. ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, contributing 5.9m tons to the global waste mountain,