Analysis
Europe remains heavily reliant on energy imports even after recent crises, as dependence on Russia has been replaced by that on other countries, according to an Intelligent Energy Association (AEI) analysis, based on data from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Romania is the country least dependent on imported
Analysis
The indispensability of nuclear energy was one of few areas of consensus at the recent summit of the strained Visegrad Four (Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) in Prague on Tuesday, 27 February. Over two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more and more countries in Central and Eastern
Business
The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries met in Prague, Czechia, for the first time in eight months, on Tuesday, 27 February. Created back in 1991, the V4 comprises around 65mn EU citizens, but for the last two years differences of opinion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Baltic countries
Tractors and logging lorries flooded central Vilnius last week, as farmers protested a number of national agricultural policies. Local media reported the protesters’ six demands; including stopping the transit of Russian grain through Lithuania, which they claim is pushing down export prices. Another demand is the government waiving an EU
Analysis
Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2024, putting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in formal charge of the EU’s policy-making process for six months. While certain EU politicians are confident about the bloc’s future but view Hungary’
Czech Republic
Czechia has to decide soon on reallocating its revenues from emission allowances to reduce or compensate for the consequences of climate change, Hospodasrske Noviny reports. The approval of the amendment should have been valid since the beginning of this year, and Czechia could be threatened with sanctions for their late
Albania
The share of renewable sources in gross final energy consumption at the EU level reached 23% in 2022, up 1.1 percentage points (pp) year-on-year, the bloc’s statistics office Eurostat reports. The EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive has upped the bloc’s 2030 renewable energy target from 32%
ESG
The fourth Budapest Climate Summit on December 4, brought together over 40 speakers from 25 countries to discuss climate change challenges and opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). At the summit, Attila Steiner, Hungary’s State Secretary of Energy and Climate Policy, spoke about Hungary’s achievements in reducing
Analysis
With energy-intensive industries to sustain, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is turning to nuclear power to simultaneously meet energy needs and climate targets. Nuclear looks set to be around 50% of the energy mix of several CEE countries within years. The war in Ukraine transformed Europe’s energy landscape, and
Balkan countries
Only 6% of Ukrainian diesel imports come from Hungary, the head of Hungarian energy giant MOL said at a conference on Saturday, 29 July. MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi was responding to a recent article by Netherlands daily Handelsblatt, which said MOL’s oil deliveries to Ukraine have doubled in the
Austria
Austria (26%) and Estonia (23%) had the EU’s highest proportions of organic land within their total utilised agricultural area (UAA) in 2020, according to recent data released by Eurostat. In 2021, the area used for organic farming expanded to 15.9mn hectares (ha) – or just under 10% of the
DACH & Slovenia
Slovenia will receive 3.26 billion euros in EU funding via a partnership agreement, the details of which it finalised with the European Commission (EC) on Monday, 19 September. The deal covers the EU’s current funding period of 2021-27. European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira said “Slovenia