A collection of 36 posts
Czechia’s rate of inflation was 10.7% last year, down from 15.1% in 2022, but still representing the country’s second-highest annual inflation rate since the creation of the independent Czechia in 1993, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) published on Thursday 11 January. The
The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) insurance market reached a total of EUR 12.5bn by the end of the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year rise of 10.2%. All CEE markets exhibited annual growth, led by Poland, with EUR 4.3bn gross written premium (GWP), followed by Czechia
Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (e&) will buy a 50% plus one share in PPF Group’s telecommunications assets in Bulgaria (mobile operator Yettel Bulgaria), Hungary (Yettel Hungary), Serbia (Yettel Serbia) and Slovakia (O2 Slovakia). The United Arab Emirates-based telco holding company, formerly Etisalat, will pay EUR 2.15bn upfront
Unlike its regional peers, the forint weakened massively this week, as the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) continued to unwind the emergency measures around Europe’s most inflated currency, Hungarian business website Portfolio wrote. Against the euro and the dollar, the domestic currency suffered a significant devaluation, 1.8% against the
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s claim over the weekend that Czechia has “changed sides” regarding the EU, emphasising the importance of regional cooperation, rather than “absurd stigmas”. Speaking at the 32nd Baile Tusnad “Summer University” Orban had said Czechia is now aligned with
Czechia is poised to start a massive construction of solar and wind power plants to secure cheap and ecological electricity supply, Environment Minister Petr Hladik (KDU-CSL) told members of the press on Thursday. “We have the resources for this: it is possible and realistic,” Hladik said, as he unveiled a
The Czech government announced “Czechia in Shape”, a new tax package to reduce the state budget deficit on Thursday 11 May. The package, designed to cut debt by CZK 94bn (EUR 4bn) in 2024 and CZK 150bn in 2025, includes a range of measures such as raising the pension age
Czech President Petr Pavel called for a “joint and balanced” strategy between the US, Europe, and other democracies to address China’s growing economic and political power while avoiding divisive lines between them, on Friday 21st April. During a visit to Brussels, Pavel discussed EU-US-China relations with European Council President
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
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
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