A collection of 252 posts
The French prosecutor’s office has opened a money laundering investigation into Andrej Babis’s purchase of luxury property in France through a number of offshore companies, Le Monde reported. The Slovak-born oligarch became prime minister of Czechia in 2017 but was voted out of office last October after his
Crude oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia will recommence after Hungarian energy firm MOL paid the August transit fee for usage of the southern, Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday. Ukraine suspended Russian oil flows through the pipeline on Thursday 4 August, Russian pipeline operator Transneft said
Corruption is considered a very serious problem by 59% of business leaders in Romania, the highest percentage in the EU, according to a recent survey from Ipsos European Public Affairs. Perceptions of graft vary greatly across the continent and business sectors, according to the pollster, which was commissioned to carry
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that European governments let consumers bear the brunt of rocketing domestic energy bills, in part to encourage power saving. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy consumer prices are rising 40% year-on-year in the euro zone, drastically reducing disposable incomes,
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,
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
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
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 currently boosting its own gas security in preparation for next winter, Energy Minister Davor Filipovic announced. By 1 November, Croatia will have filled its only underground gas storage facility in Okoli, central Croatia, by up to 90%, Filipovic told state broadcaster HRT. Filipovic was speaking after a report
The EU on Monday failed to make headway on finalising a sixth package of sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, which includes a complete embargo on oil imports from the country. The first five rounds of EU sanctions included asset freezes and travel bans on Russian
The European Commission (EC) could channel funds to countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to help reduce their dependence on Russian fuels, in the wake of Hungary threatening to veto the planned EU embargo on Russian oil imports. The financial compensation would be disbursed via the new RePowerEU strategy
Czechia will participate in the UN Human Rights Council meeting on Thursday 12 May, after being elected as Russia’s replacement in the 47-member body earlier this week. The special session from 10am will address the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine including reported atrocities in Mariupol, at the request
NATO has around 30 surveillance and fighter jets in airspace outside of Ukraine and Belarus at any moment according the defence alliance, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO also released an infographic outlining the allied aircraft able to be deployed in airspace in Central and Eastern Europe
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid an unexpected visit to Budapest on Monday evening to discuss the EU’s proposed package of sanctions against Russia with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. After the meeting, von der Leyen tweeted: “This evening’s discussion with PM Viktor Orban was helpful
The EU has revised its proposal to ban Russia oil imports by the end of 2022, in order to give Hungary and Slovakia an extra two years to comply. The third country offered a deadline extension by the EU is Czechia, which would have a six-month earlier deadline, of June