A collection of 179 posts
Robotisation has risen sharply in CEE, according to a new report entitled “How do Economies in EU-CEE Cope with Labour Shortages?” released by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw). As robotisation levels mainly depend on the automotive, electrics and electronics industries, they have spiked in recent years in
The European Commission (EC) told Slovakia on Tuesday to include spending limits in its state budget or risk endangering the EUR 6.3bn it has earmarked for the country via its Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). According to the EC, Slovakia has failed to follow up on calculating how spending
The meeting of the parliamentary speakers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries scheduled for this Friday (25 November) has been cancelled after legislative leaders from Czechia and Poland announced they would not attend the event, citing Hungary’s friendly relations with Russia, Czech new website Seznam Zpravy reported. Czech Speaker
For the ninth consecutive year, Estonia has the best tax regime of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, according to the latest International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI). Of the index’s top ten countries, five from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were included. Estonia’s top ITCI
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
The loan-book performance of banks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is set to worsen as interest rate hikes take their toll on the loan repayment capacity of borrowers, according to a report released by Moody’s on Thursday. The credit rating agency notes that although CEE region’s inflation
Polish officials symbolically commissioned the Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline with Norway on Tuesday, a day that turned out to be epochal for energy in Europe. With an annual capacity of ten billion cubic metres, the pipeline opens a new North Sea channel for Norwegian gas imports via Denmark. “The
German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) may close its plants in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) if the natural gas shortage persists beyond this winter, procurement manager Geng Wu said. Volkswagen will consider bringing factories closer to the point of sales, in the medium-term, Wu added, citing the worldwide shortage of microchips
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.
As the EU accelerates its shift to electric vehicles by outlawing internal combustion engines by 2035, the auto industries in Central Europe are transiting to e-mobility. Battery plants can play a key role in the absorption of manpower as conventional car making is phased out, while pulling in new electronic
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will travel to the Netherlands this week to open a new terminal, according to an agreement made in June. “On Thursday, I am going to the Netherlands to ceremoniously open a new LNG terminal, thanks to which the Czech Republic will have an alternative in
Crude oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia will recommence after Hungarian energy firm MOL paid the August transit fee for usage of the southern, Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday. Ukraine suspended Russian oil flows through the pipeline on Thursday 4 August, Russian pipeline operator Transneft said
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,
Hungary’s currency, the forint, has in recent weeks plumbed all-time lows against the euro. Although currencies are dropping across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) due to the war in Ukraine and its resultant sanctions, the forint’s fall has been the region’s most precipitous. The fall of the