A collection of 48 posts
The European Commission took Bulgaria to the European Court of Justice after four years of Sofia refusing to link its national business register to the EU Business Registers system (BRIS). BRIS is an information system that allows users to search company-specific data simultaneously in all EU countries with the purpose
Showing his backing of the “Three Seas Initiative,” US president Joe Biden appeared via video conference at the group’s event this week in Sofia, Bulgaria, giving a video address at the start of the conference. Seven heads of state were in attendance at the forum, held on 8-9 July
Hungary’s government faced a barrage of criticism from officials in Strasbourg this week over a law that bans content “promoting homosexuality” to minors, but there are also concerns over a lack of safeguards to prevent corruption. Some are even suggesting that Hungary’s portion of the EU stimulus package
The leaders of the EU are planning to funnel hundreds of billons of euros into sustainable investments each year through banks and markets to create the first “climate-neutral continent” by the middle of the century. The related plans announced in the EU’s sustainable finance framework detail the next steps
Inflation may pose a real threat for countries in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), specifically for Poland and Hungary, which are facing post-pandemic economic pressures. That’s why their economies do not appear as shiny as they used to. Hungary saw a recent inflation rate of 5.1%, while Poland’
Activity attributed to Russian internet trolls dropped significantly in the Czech Republic after some workers at the Russian Embassy in Prague were deported, according to a report by the Seznamzpravy.cz news site. Czech authorities’ expulsion of 18 people described as officers of the Russian secret services occurred in April
In Slovakia, a prototype flying car has completed a 35-minute flight between the country’s international airports in Nitra and Bratislava. The hybrid car-aircraft, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol. Its creator, professor Stefan Klein, said it could fly about 1,000km, at a
On Monday, Belarus’s government announced the suspension of its participation in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership, which is a cooperation vehicle between Brussels and ex-communist countries in the region. The Eastern Partnership is perceived by many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as a precursor to a
Despite Serbia’s aspirations to join 27 member states as a fellow member of the European Union, Belgrade is refusing to back any EU policies that go against Russia, absolutely refusing to support sanctions against Moscow following its actions like the annexation of Crimea. Russia is Serbia’s friend, speaker
Meeting in Warsaw, finance ministers from the “Visegrad 4” (V4) country grouping – Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia – discussed post Covid-19 economic recovery plans and investments. They welcomed the global minimum tax proposed by the G7 but said they prefer an international solution in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
In recovery plans being submitted by member states to the European Commission to tap into the EUR 750 billion in available funds, 37% of spending must go toward green investments. Nine such plans have been approved so far by the Commission. But some NGOs are afraid the Commission may be
To curb inflation, the Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) on Tuesday raised its base rate by 30 basis points to 0.9% from 0.6% – slightly exceeding forecasts. Via this move, Hungary may be the first EU member state to initiate a cycle of rate hikes aiming to combat growing
The European Commission has approved the economic Recovery and Resilience Plan submitted by Slovakia, which was among the first EU member states to present how it intends to spend EUR 6.3 billion in Union funds on things like education, healthcare and the environment. EC president Ursula von der Leyen
It’s been over a year since the EU’s ban on non-essential travel, but as of 18 June US travelers and those from 13 other countries – Albania, Australia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Republic of North Macedonia, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and China – will once again be
A leaked draft version of the European Commission’s renewable energy directive has received loud criticism from the renewables industry and NGOs. They claim the proposal is lacking ambition and that it must be in line with EU’s new climate goals. The proposal is due to be adopted in