A collection of 55 posts
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD on 15 May signed an agreement with the Hungarian government to relocate its European headquarters to Budapest's 11th District, alongside two major research and development projects. The announcement marks the latest phase in BYD's European expansion. Hungary's government
US President Donald Trump’s new raft of global tariffs threatens to hammer the export-driven economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with his 25% duty on foreign-made cars posing a direct risk to regional manufacturing. As highly integrated suppliers in Germany-led EU value chains, Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia are
The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But while this marks a major milestone for the bloc, the picture in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is more complex, as
The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of integration, consumers across member states face uneven product quality and varied prices. This is due to regulatory fragmentation in two main forms: Territorial Supply Constraints and gold-plating. TSCs occur when suppliers block cross-border sourcing
The European Commission (EC) has chosen 47 strategic projects across the EU to reduce critical raw material dependency, with Czechia, Estonia, Poland, and Romania at the forefront, marking a significant boost to regional competitiveness amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. The EC’s selections are critical to the industrial future of Central
Hungary has broken ranks with the EU in response to the US's new tariffs policy, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks to preserve close ties with the Trump administration amid the resultant trade tensions. Hungary pushes back on retaliatory tariffs The EU confirmed on 9 April that
Attendees from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) nations including Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Moldova and others discussed policy priorities at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in south west Turkey on 11-13 April. The forum's theme "Reclaiming Diplomacy in a Fragmented World" set the tone for
When Croatia, Albania and Kosovo recently formed a new military alliance, Serbia and Hungary followed suit, reshaping the security situation in South East Europe. Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and Hungarian Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky earlier this month signed a bilateral military cooperation agreement in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.
The city of Krakow, south Poland, saw nearly 1,900 group layoffs in the first quarter of 2025, almost equalling the total for all of 2024, local media reported, citing official data. The dismissals, mostly affecting white-collar roles in finance, technology and business services, point to deeper structural changes in
Stock markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) fell sharply after US President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs on global imports on 2 April 2025, spooking the region's export-dependent economies and reviving fears of a wider economic slowdown. CEE Stock Market Weekly Performance to 7 April 2025 Most
The European Commission (EC) has launched an inquiry into state support provided by Hungary to Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD, as part of a broader investigation into foreign subsidies distorting competition in the EU. The preliminary probe, initiated on 19 March 2025, comes under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is set to play a key role in the EU’s push to establish itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence under the new funding initiative Invest AI. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan at the AI Action Summit
Poland is rapidly emerging as a key hub for technological innovation and investment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), attracting major commitments from global tech companies such as Microsoft and Google. Microsoft has announced an investment of nearly PLN 3bn (around USD 700mn) to strengthen Poland’s cybersecurity infrastructure and
Moldova and North Macedonia have been approved to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), marking a significant step in their integration with European financial systems. The countries will become operational members on October 5, after becoming compliant with SEPA regulations from April, the European Payments Council (EPC) announced on
The centre-right People’s Party (OVP) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPO) are working behind closed doors on a coalition deal that would exclude the far-right, pro-Russia Freedom Party (FPO) from government, after the latter party failed to form a ruling coalition, party officials said on Thursday, 20 February. Austria’