A collection of 179 posts
Romania reported the highest inflation rate in May, of 5.8%, driven by significant increases in housing and utilities prices, according to the latest data from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Croatia experienced the second highest inflation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), of 4.3%, driven primarily
Pro-European centrist parties performed well in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at the European Parliament (EP) elections held from 6-9 June, in contrast to elsewhere on the continent, where far-right parties surged. Tusk consolidates lead in Poland In Poland, the Civic Coalition (KO), led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, gained
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico faced an unexpected setback in the EU elections against the opposition liberals on Sunday, following a recent assassination attempt that left him severely wounded, according to his party. An opponent of military assistance to Ukraine in its conflict against Russian forces, Fico, 59, had
The EU elections, which will be held from on 6-9 June, involve nearly 400mn voters across 27 countries deciding on 720 seats in the European Parliament (EP). The vote will decide who will lead the European Commission (EC), with EC President Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second term,
Slovakia’s head of state and president-elect jointly called for calm in the wake of the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday 15 May. Fico was shot five times by Juraj Cintula in Handlova, central Slovakia, on Wednesday, at 2:30 pm, in the highest profile
Per capita income in Slovenia will surpass that of Italy by 2029 when adjusted for purchasing power (PPP), according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections, while Lithuania will draw level and Poland will not be far behind. The shift makes good on promises that the Central and Eastern
Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia’s nationalist-left ruling coalition beat pro-Western opposition candidate Ivan Korcok by 53.1% to 46.9% in the presidential election on Saturday, 6 April. Turnout was 61.14%, the highest for a presidential election in Slovakia since 1999. Pellegrini, 48, is House speaker and an ally
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to progress with planning a greater role in coordinating aid to Ukraine on the first of two days of meetings at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday 4 April, the 75th anniversary of the signing of the defence alliance’s founding document.
Thousands protested at Freedom Square, Bratislava, over Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s plan to overhaul the country’s state media, on Friday, 15 March. According to the plan, state media body Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS) would be scrapped and a seven-member government-nominated council could hire and fire
Czech photovoltaic distributor Raylyst Solar is the most rapidly growing company in Europe, according to the latest rankings by UK daily the Financial Times and German data platform Statista. Czech entrepreneur Jan Kamenicek founded Raylyst in 2018, and the company now delivers photovoltaic panels in Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Italy and
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
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
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico appeared to renege on his election promise to not send “another bullet” to Ukraine on Tuesday, as MPs voted through a government amendment allowing arms exports. Under the amendment, the Defence Ministry will be able to green-light public and private weapons companies to continue arming
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’
The European Parliament (EP) chief rule of law negotiator Petri Sarvamaa, MEP, published on Tuesday a petition letter calling to suspend Hungary’s voting rights on the European Council, to President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. Since regaining power in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz