A collection of 255 posts
The number of pay TV subscribers in Eastern Europe will decline by 8mn from its peak of 81mn in 2018, to 73 million by 2028, according to a new report by Digital TV Research. However, the figures for 2018 included 17mn analogue-cable subscribers, which will have dropped to zero by
Poland will send Ukraine four MiG-29 fighter jets in the coming days, with more to follow later, according to an announcement by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday, 16 March. The move will make Poland the first NATO member country to fulfil the Ukrainian government’s increasingly urgent requests for
Poland has extended the operational license of its highly-polluting Turow lignite mine by 22 years, the Czech Environment Ministry revealed on Wednesday. “According to our information, Poland has authorised the extension of mining until 2044, with a decision by its climate and environment minister from 17 February,” Czech Environment Ministry
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the Western world to send more help when he opened the Munich Security Conference (MSC) from Kyiv on Friday. “We need speed,” Zelenskyy said. The MSC is the primary global platform for the exchange of ideas on security policy, assembling hundreds of heads-of-state, ministers, influential
Retired General Petr Pavel, a former senior NATO commander, won the Czech presidency in a record-breaking victory over former prime minister Andrej Babis on Saturday. In the head-to-head second round of voting, pro-EU Pavel received 58.3% of the ballots, to Babis’s 41.68%, the largest ever victory margin
Geopolitics is leaving its mark on the arms race in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Countries are drifting further away from the concept of a united European armed force amid shifting geopolitical realities, mistrust and the revival of long-standing historical alliances. The rearmament of Europe lurched back onto the global
Railway infrastructure managers from Czechia, Poland and the Baltics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in connection with building almost 2,800 miles of high-speed railway across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on Wednesday. The MOU was signed in Warsaw at the Railway Direction Days conference, and builds on a
More people in Estonia use online banking services than anywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), according to a new report by the official EU statistics office Eurostat. In Estonia, 83.36% of residents used digital banking in 2022, with Latvia close behind on 82.45%. Other countries high
Retired General Petr Pavel will face ex-prime minister Andrej Babis in Czechia’s presidential runoff vote after narrowly beating him into second place in an eight-candidate ballot on Friday and Saturday, 13-14 January. Pavel received 35.4% of the votes, to Andrej Babis’s 34.99%, missing the simple majority
Net4Gas, Czechia’s natural gas transmission system operator, had not received its contracted monthly payment from Russian state-owned Gazprom by 4 January, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela announced. Gazprom contracts made up 75% of the revenues of Net4Gas in 2021. In an official filing Net4Gas stated that it
Czechia received near universal acclaim as it completed its stewardship of the presidency of the Council of the EU, which will now be led by Sweden. Leading Czech daily Denik N, wrote that Czechia had “grown up” during its tenure, which ran from July to December 2022. EC officials give
Croatia will become the Schengen zone’s newest member on 1 January, the Council of the EU announced on Thursday, 8 December. Croatia will “take two important steps in its European integration, by joining both the euro and the Schengen areas”, noted Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, whose country has
Wizz Air will serve 31% more passengers than Ryanair in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Caucuses this winter, according a new report that cites Official Aviation Guide (OAG) data. While the Hungary-headquartered airline runs 651 routes to, from and in CEE, this figure is 514 for Ryanair. That
Orlen Unipetrol, owned by Poland’s leading energy company PKN Orlen, will take over 143 petrol stations in Hungary and 39 in Slovakia, the Budapest Stock Exchange announced on Thursday, 1 November. The regional shake-up of retail fuel operators involves all of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, Poland, Czechia, Hungary
Robotisation has risen sharply in CEE, according to a new report entitled “How do Economies in EU-CEE Cope with Labour Shortages?” released by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw). As robotisation levels mainly depend on the automotive, electrics and electronics industries, they have spiked in recent years in