A collection of 90 posts
The expansion and modernisation of the NATO air base in Constanta, south-east Romania, symbolises the country’s growing strategic importance to NATO and the US, regional expert Ronald H. Linden writes in an article entitled “Romania is America’s new indispensable ally in Eastern Europe” in US politics daily The
Romanian Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Stefan-Radu Oprea and Romanian Chemical Industry Association Romchimica signed a letter of intent regarding joint efforts in the country’s energy transition on Friday, May 17. The document will form the basis of collaboration for the development of initiatives and partnerships between the
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Hungary underscores the geopolitical importance of the growing bilateral friendship. China’s new investments in Hungary total EUR 16bn and are expected to reach EUR 30bn by the end of the year. On his first visit to Europe since the pandemic, Chinese
Czech citizens who are interested in using solar power at their own home or company can rest easy, the subsidies for them will not end soon, Hospodarske Noviny writes. The Central European country has enthusiastically leaned into the construction of domestic solar power plants, and the lion’s share of
Europe remains heavily reliant on energy imports even after recent crises, as dependence on Russia has been replaced by that on other countries, according to an Intelligent Energy Association (AEI) analysis, based on data from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Romania is the country least dependent on imported
The indispensability of nuclear energy was one of few areas of consensus at the recent summit of the strained Visegrad Four (Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) in Prague on Tuesday, 27 February. Over two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more and more countries in Central and Eastern
The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries met in Prague, Czechia, for the first time in eight months, on Tuesday, 27 February. Created back in 1991, the V4 comprises around 65mn EU citizens, but for the last two years differences of opinion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2024, putting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in formal charge of the EU’s policy-making process for six months. While certain EU politicians are confident about the bloc’s future but view Hungary’
Czechia has to decide soon on reallocating its revenues from emission allowances to reduce or compensate for the consequences of climate change, Hospodasrske Noviny reports. The approval of the amendment should have been valid since the beginning of this year, and Czechia could be threatened with sanctions for their late
The fourth Budapest Climate Summit on December 4, brought together over 40 speakers from 25 countries to discuss climate change challenges and opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). At the summit, Attila Steiner, Hungary’s State Secretary of Energy and Climate Policy, spoke about Hungary’s achievements in reducing
With energy-intensive industries to sustain, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is turning to nuclear power to simultaneously meet energy needs and climate targets. Nuclear looks set to be around 50% of the energy mix of several CEE countries within years. The war in Ukraine transformed Europe’s energy landscape, and
Only 6% of Ukrainian diesel imports come from Hungary, the head of Hungarian energy giant MOL said at a conference on Saturday, 29 July. MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi was responding to a recent article by Netherlands daily Handelsblatt, which said MOL’s oil deliveries to Ukraine have doubled in the
Austria (26%) and Estonia (23%) had the EU’s highest proportions of organic land within their total utilised agricultural area (UAA) in 2020, according to recent data released by Eurostat. In 2021, the area used for organic farming expanded to 15.9mn hectares (ha) – or just under 10% of the
Meeting the EU’s 2030 climate targets poses a huge challenge for Central European countries, especially for coal-dependent Poland. But it is also helping the country with a population of 40 million to modernize. Thwarted by the highest electricity prices in Europe, and pressured by EU environmental regulations, Poland has
Poland’s relationship with China has undergone a significant shift in recent years. Yet the economic opportunities that were supposed to come with a closer partnership have not materialized. Below, we look into the causes. A very sensitive issue: 5G Poland, where Huawei has been operating since 2004, is where