A collection of 246 posts
Czechs voted for a conservative shift in last weekend’s elections on Friday and Saturday. The conservative coalition SPOLU (“Together”) formed by the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats, and TOP 09 parties, narrowly beat the ruling ANO party of current prime minister Andrej Babis. His coalition partner Social Democrats and the
Due to the global shortage of microchips the Czech Republic’s biggest exporter, auto manufacturer Skoda, has announced a significant production cut – starting in October – which could last until the end of 2021. According to economists, it could exert a significant effect upon Czechia’s overall economy by cutting into
Corruption allegations against prime minister Andrej Babis are dominating the headlines in Czechia as its citizens prepare to go to the polls on Friday and Saturday. Already reeling from his ANO party’s fall in support during September – from 32.4% to 27.3%, according to pollster STEM – the oligarch
Czech prime minister Andrej Babis is one of the most prominent active politicians featured in the so-called Pandora Papers, a massive trove of information from offshore services firms totaling 11.9 million secret files – published on 3 October by the International Consortium of Investigate Journalists. According to the revelations, Babis,
Uncertainty could loom over Europe for some time following this past weekend’s German elections, which did not produce a clear winner. Although the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) won by a narrow margin of 1.5% ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a long and wary period
A dispute between Czechia and Poland over the shut-down of a brown coal mine has turned into diplomatic spat. Media in Hungary have reported that Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki decided to cancel his appearance at this week’s Demography Summit in Budapest, where his Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš is
The European Union’s Court of Justice is forcing Poland to pay a huge daily fine – EUR 500,000 – for continuing to operate a lignite mine which had been ordered to cease extraction in May of this year. Calling the fine exorbitant, Poland’s government says it has no plans
If not partly or fully owned by the state, like utility and oil companies, the largest companies in the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) countries – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia – are mostly foreign-owned and typically operate in the automotive, retail and electronics sectors. They are highly productive and prosperous, driving their
The Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of the Czech ticket seller Kiwi.com against Ryanair in a dispute over Kiwi’s practices for handling passenger data. The legal win is a boost for the Czech company amid tensions with Ryanair which have seen the carrier threatening
Two countries in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Bulgaria and Croatia, are on track to introduce the European common currency. In Sofia, politicians on both the left and right endorse the euro despite the looming government crisis, while Zagreb has even decided on its national symbols to be portrayed on
The European Commission has approved the Czech Republic’s EUR 7 billion plan to recover from the pandemic and transform the country’s economy into one that is greener and more digital. The scheme will be financed from EU grants until 2026. Once the plan is also approved by EU
Activity attributed to Russian internet trolls dropped significantly in the Czech Republic after some workers at the Russian Embassy in Prague were deported, according to a report by the Seznamzpravy.cz news site. Czech authorities’ expulsion of 18 people described as officers of the Russian secret services occurred in April
Since Viktor Orbán became the prime minister of Hungary, cooperation among the “Visegrád 4” (V4) countries – Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland – has become a key ingredient of the Hungarian government’s rhetoric. Now, with Hungary taking over the presidency of the Visegrad Group, the country is keen to
Meeting in Warsaw, finance ministers from the “Visegrad 4” (V4) country grouping – Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia – discussed post Covid-19 economic recovery plans and investments. They welcomed the global minimum tax proposed by the G7 but said they prefer an international solution in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
The October elections in the Czech Republic could change the Czech government’s approach towards the EU’s climate objectives, which is currently very cautious. Similar to most countries in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), the country is an underachiever in renewables, but it is gradually phasing out coal-fuelled power