A collection of 49 posts
Few would call Europe a continent of extremes – yet wage differences are sometimes severe: in South-Eastern-Europe, in countries outside of the European Union, there are still some places where hourly wages are under EUR 2. Meanwhile, EU member states like Croatia and Slovenia offer much better pay, the latter being
Poised to take the presidency of the European Council on 1 July, Slovenia will prioritize regulation of the digital agenda in its 6-month stint, according to Iztok Jarc, Slovenian ambassador to the EU. In regards to the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act, Jarc said Slovenia will
Shortly following the monumental changes to their governmental systems and economies, countries in Central & Eastern Europe did see their wages grow steadily – but over 30 years later it is apparent that average employee pay in the region can still be even half of that seen in the West of
Romania’s economy will grow by 6% this year, fully reversing the 3.9% contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, according to an updated Global Economic Prospects published by the World Bank. The global outlook remains subject to significant downside risks, including the possibility of additional COVID-19 waves
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them, over their alleged corrupt activities. The three businessmen are former lawmaker and media mogul Delyan Peevski, government official Ilko Zhelyazkov and fugitive gambling tycoon Vassil Bozhko. Those blacklisted are banned from the US financial system,
Poland says that closing down its open-pit brown coal mine in Turow would be an “energy disaster.” Even so, the European Commission is lining up behind the Czech Republic in an ongoing fight with its neighbor against the expansion of the mine, which is run by Poland’s state-run company
EU member states have approved a EUR 17.5 billion fund which aims to help some countries wean themselves from polluting industries like coal mining and others with high emissions, moving them towards green industries in the push to achieve net zero GHG emissions. The so-called Just Transition Fund (“JTF”
In a global effort against “tax avoidance,” finance ministers from the G7 countries meeting in London last weekend have agreed on overarching rules that will oblige multinational corporations to pay a greater share of their global tax obligations. As part of their deal, the G7, a grouping of some of
Slovakia has been a great beneficiary of automotive industry expansion in recent decades. However, its high exposure to the global car market, and the ongoing far-reaching transformation of the industry may endanger the country’s outlook in this regard and reveal weaknesses in Slovakia’s economic growth model. “This is
One of the biggest car manufacturers of the world, the Czech Republic has a lot to lose if it does not adapt to the fundamental changes of the auto industry. But the country is confident it can host one of the gigantic battery plants of Europe, capitalizing on its skilled
With the aim of rolling out low carbon technologies, the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures is teaming up with the European Union to raise USD 1 billion in funding. The cooperation entails gathering private capital and philanthropic funds by Breakthrough Energy and combining them with EU community funding. The goal
On Tuesday, the EU agreed to new tax rules designed to increase the transparency of multinational companies with established operations in tax haven countries for the purpose of tax avoidance, but some NGOs say the rules don’t go far enough. According to the EU rules, such corporations whose worldwide
European investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies are way behind Chinese and American investments. In a report related to such competition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has concluded that the EU has an annual investment shortfall of up to EUR 10 billion. The EIB reports that China and
The net sales of Hungary’s MVM Group amounted to HUF 1,835 billion last year, which is EUR 71,8 million higher than in 2019 and an increase of 91% compared to 2016, János Sum, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of MVM Zrt said told the press. Other numbers are
Pushed through by state secretary Norbert Izer and communicated by the Ministry of Finance as a success story, Hungary has reduced the tax rate on cryptocurrencies from 30.5% to 15%. The announced tax reform has, to some extent, been triggered by rising prices, although – independent of the government’s