Hungary and Slovakia have emerged as the most vocal opponents of two of the EU’s most consequential reform proposals: plans to phase out Russian energy imports and to overhaul the bloc’s long-term budget to prioritise defence, climate and digital transition.
EU mulls ban of new Russian energy contracts
In a new step in the cleaner transport transition, OMV Petrom has inaugurated Romania's largest electric vehicle (EV) hub with 34 charging points of up to 400kW on the A1 motorway near Miercurea Sibiului, central Romania.
The site is located on the Rhine-Danube Corridor - one of Romania’
Estonia has surged to second place in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, its best-ever result and the highest ranking among EU countries.
Estonia's ranking in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index is the highest ever achieved by a Central and Eastern European (CEE) country since the index&
Czechia has halted imports of Russian crude oil delivered via the Druzhba pipelinefor the first time in 60 years, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced in mid-April.
The milestone was enabled by the expansion of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), which connects the Italian port of Trieste to Austria and Germany,
Workers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) enjoy some of the lowest personal income tax rates in Europe, with Slovakia and Poland the outliers for individuals and families, according to a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.
The OECD Taxing Wages 2025 report analysed tax data and
Poland has launched a new national doctrine aimed at establishing the country as the dominant military and economic power in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the "Piast Doctrine" during a speech in Gniezno, central Poland. "Maybe today it is worth announcing
The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But while this marks a major milestone for the bloc, the picture in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is more complex, as
The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of integration, consumers across member states face uneven product quality and varied prices. This is due to regulatory fragmentation in two main forms: Territorial Supply Constraints and gold-plating. TSCs occur when suppliers block cross-border sourcing
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has prompted mass animal culls and tightened border controls across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The breakout represents the first significant detection of FMD in Hungary and Slovakia in over five decades.
Since Hungary confirmed its first case at a dairy farm in Gyor-Moson-Sopron
Attendees from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) nations including Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Moldova and others discussed policy priorities at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in south west Turkey on 11-13 April.
The forum's theme "Reclaiming Diplomacy in a Fragmented World" set the tone for
Stock markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) fell sharply after US President Donald Trump announced retaliatory tariffs on global imports on 2 April 2025, spooking the region's export-dependent economies and reviving fears of a wider economic slowdown.
CEE Stock Market Weekly Performance to 7 April 2025
Most
The US and Russia are discussing the potential reopening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, raising significant concerns across Europe, according to media reports.
The natural gas pipeline, which runs beneath the Baltic Sea, aimed to double Russian gas exports to Germany. However, it has remained inactive since its
Romania and Poland have gender pay disparities among the lowest in the EU, according to Eurostat data published this month. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Romania and Poland recorded the smallest gender pay gaps in 2023, at 3.6% and 4.5% respectively — both well below the EU average
As political landscapes shift across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), governments are recalibrating their approaches to Ukraine, European security, and internal governance.
The region remains split between pro-European integration and nationalist, often pro-Kremlin, forces: Czechia and Poland reinforce their commitments to Ukraine, while Hungary and Slovakia align with Moscow.
Meanwhile,
Poland is set to purchase an additional 180 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks for approximately USD 6.2bn (EUR 5.7bn), South Korean government officials announced on 9 March. The proposed agreement could be finalised as soon as next month and follows Poland’s earlier USD 12.4bn deal