A collection of 252 posts
Czech President Milos Zeman – who was hospitalised on 10 October, the morning after the general election – remains incapable of performing his official duties and could now have his powers removed to enable the formation of new cabinet. Opposition politicians are now discussing triggering Article 66 of the Constitution, which transfers
After years of non-engagement, the outgoing Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis appears to have discovered a new-found enthusiasm for the “Three Seas Initiative” (TSI), and is set to plunge EUR 20 million into a controversial TSI project. The TSI was created to improve connections among 12 EU member states including
Volkswagen will decide on the location of a new battery cell plant in Central and Eastern Europe in the first half of 2022, the German carmaker announced. Each of the V4 countries – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – are in the running to host the facility. Volkswagen has announced
Slovakia’s capital city Bratislava is having difficulty getting EU funding after the rapid rise in its GDP per capita in recent years. As with many Central and Eastern European capitals, Bratislava’s wealth has climbed well above the EU average, meaning that the city no longer qualifies for EU
Czech politics is currently in a state of paralysis after President Milos Zeman was hospitalised on election weekend. The head of state officially oversees the handover of power after national elections in Czechia. However the 77-year-old fell ill after a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Sunday. Instead of
Germany’s VW is planning on building six battery factories in Europe by 2030, and one of those facilities is likely to land in one of the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) group countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland or Slovakia – but the actual decision hasn’t yet been made. Wherever the
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