A collection of 149 posts
The tensions around the burgeoning relations between Taiwan and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will be on the agenda when US president Joe Biden meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Bali today (Monday 14, November). Last Monday Lithuania opened its trade office in Taiwan, the same day that the 23-million
Latvia’s ruling centre-right party Jauna Vienotiba (New Unity) was the clear winner in the country’s general elections at the weekend with around 19% of the vote, as Russian minority parties dropped out of parliament, with 99% of the votes counted on Sunday. The Greens and Farmers Union came
Hungarian Sinologist Tamas Matura argued in his recent report for CEPA that China wields little influence in Hungary, despite the Hungarian government’s decade of support for Beijing in the EU. However, shortly after the release of the CEPA report, China’s CATL announced plans to build a EUR 7.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said his budget airline has no plans to withdraw from Hungary but will cease some services in the winter months in response to the government’s “idiotic” windfall tax on airlines, at a press conference in the Hungarian capital of Budapest on Tuesday. The move
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are finalising coordinated agreements on restricting entry for the Russian citizens with Schengen visas, the three Baltic countries’ foreign ministers announced after a meeting of the Nordic-Baltic Eight in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Wednesday. The Baltic countries are planning tighter measures than those announced by the EU
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised the urgency of accession for aspiring EU members in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) when he met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague. Scholz also laid out his pan-European policy vision regarding energy, defence, trade, natural resources and migration. “The centre of Europe
Estonia has repelled its most severe hacking attack in 15 years, the government announced on Thursday. The hack of the previous day targeted 207 Estonian institutions, including its main online payment platform, according to the country’s digital communications officials. The country’s main banks, health, home, public and education
Corruption is considered a very serious problem by 59% of business leaders in Romania, the highest percentage in the EU, according to a recent survey from Ipsos European Public Affairs. Perceptions of graft vary greatly across the continent and business sectors, according to the pollster, which was commissioned to carry
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that European governments let consumers bear the brunt of rocketing domestic energy bills, in part to encourage power saving. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy consumer prices are rising 40% year-on-year in the euro zone, drastically reducing disposable incomes,
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte reacted to criticism on Thursday over her country’s acceptance of the transport of civilian-use goods from Russia to Kalingrad across its territory. “It would be irrational to continue to argue with EU partners” Simonyte said, after the European Commission (EC) on Wednesday clarified its
Croatia has been given the go-ahead to adopt the euro from the start of next year, when it will become twentieth country to do so, and the first since Lithuania in 2015. Having received positive assessments of the ECB and the European Commission, the path for euro adoption is now
Lithuania allowing Taiwan to open a ‘Taiwanese Representative Office’ in its capital Vilnius “gave China reason to go all-out against us”, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says in an interview with the right-wing UK magazine The Spectator. Beijing withdrew its ambassador and blocked imports from Lithuania, deleting it from its
Croatia is currently boosting its own gas security in preparation for next winter, Energy Minister Davor Filipovic announced. By 1 November, Croatia will have filled its only underground gas storage facility in Okoli, central Croatia, by up to 90%, Filipovic told state broadcaster HRT. Filipovic was speaking after a report
The EU on Monday failed to make headway on finalising a sixth package of sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, which includes a complete embargo on oil imports from the country. The first five rounds of EU sanctions included asset freezes and travel bans on Russian
French President Emmanuel Macron told Chinese President Xi that France expects China to reverse the sanctions it has imposed on Lithuania during a telephone call on Tuesday. China has removed Lithuania from its customs system over its recognition of the independence of Taiwan, which the superpower considers illegitimate. Lithuania’s