As some countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) relax Coronavirus restrictions, others remain cautious, with Czechia in the first camp, while Estonia is in the second. As Czechia lifts the requirement to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and mass gatherings, Estonia has u-turned on a similar plan
Poland is predicted to have the highest level of inflation of 6.8% in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) – and the EU as a whole – this year, according to a new European Commission (EC) forecast. The EC’s prediction for Poland is way over the average predicted rise in the
NATO has sent troops to Lithuania, which the country’s head of state says should be permanently stationed in the Baltic country. A rotating contingent of soldiers “would be the best boost to security and deterrence that NATO could provide – not only to Lithuania, but to the whole region”, President
Estonia has become the digital model for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) due to a digitalisation policy that has seen it close in on the wealth and GDP of EU countries further west. The keystones of Estonia’s ‘CEE dream’ are increasingly recognised as public service digitalization and digital integration.
The European Commission (EC) unveiled legislation designed to double Europe’s share of the semiconductor industry yesterday. The so-called Chips Act addresses supply-chain shortages in the EU’s tech sector. Having assigned EUR 11 billion for the package, the EU aims to raise EUR 43 billion overall and gain a
Riga International Airport will invest more than EUR 247 million in developing the facility by 2027, according to its Runway 2027 strategy, released on Wednesday. The scheme aims to reach nine million serviced passengers and 48,500 tonnes of freight annually within five years,while implementing green goals and reducing
Czechia’s new government will allocate more EU subsidies to smaller-scale family farms, and fewer to the country’s traditionally dominant large landowners, from next year. The conservative-led coalition that succeeded Babis has deeply discussed its policy within the EU Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan. The result was a document
The European Commission (EC) will withhold approximately EUR 15 million in EU funding from Poland for its refusal to pay fines issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). For months Warsaw ignored an ECJ order to pay a daily fine of EUR 500,000 for its refusal to shut
With a EUR 1,074 minimum wage, Slovenia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) where a gross monthly salary of over a thousand euros was guaranteed, as of January 2022, according to new data from Eurostat. The federal minimum wage in the United States was EUR
A group of four European budget airlines have allied to lobby against them shouldering the bulk of the cost of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) aviation fuel reform. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and Wizz Air say they support climate goals for every flight from Europe – not just internal EU
In Europe and in Hungary, initiatives to expand use of hydrogen as an energy source have been given the green light, as without it the EU’s 2050 climate targets seem unattainable. Carbon-neutral or low-carbon – green and blue hydrogen – could be one of the key energy sources for the climate-friendly
The Czech Republic and Poland made good today on promises made in yesterday’s settlement of the Turow mine dispute. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that Czechia withdrew its complaints regarding the Polish mining operation to the Court of Justice of the European Union, while Warsaw had already paid
EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic laid out the bloc’s plans how to build capacity in critical raw materials for batteries along the value chain after a meeting of the Competitiveness Council this week. “We know that the broad deployment of clean and digital technologies will lead to a rising
The European Commission (EC) on Thursday announced its intension to extend the validity of EU Digital COVID Certificates by another year, to 30 June 2023. The EC said the move will ensure that travellers can continue to use their certificate when travelling inside EU member states that maintain certain public
Czechia and Poland signed an agreement regarding the environmentally damaging lignite mine in Turow, western Poland, on Thursday. Under the deal, Poland will contribute EUR 45 million towards new infrastructure in Czech regions over the border from the facility, and also monitor the mine, build groundwater barriers and establish a
The Austrian Greens party made secret, parallel arrangements when it signed a coalition deal with the conservative OVP party in 2020, according to a newly leaked document. The supplementary agreement, or “Sideletter”, was unknown to party members and even Greens politicians who had co-negotiated the coalition deal. One of the
Europe’s largest airline Ryanair has announced plans to restore all of the flights from the Croatian capital of Zagreb that it suspended last month, while commencing services from Zagreb to Bratislava, Lviv and Corfu. Ryanair launched its base in Zagreb, where it hosts three aircraft, last year and after
Here in Hungary, company cultures that effectively reduce gender discrimination are taking root, helping women to gain access to management positions. These pioneering initiatives are part of a European effort that is still only just beginning to take shape at an EU level. In March 2020, the European Commission adopted
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked for almost five hours in Moscow on Tuesday, although only a small amount of their conversation was made public, according to local outlets. After the meeting, Orban said Hungary aims to negotiate an increase in the volume of natural
Soaring natural gas prices last year disrupted the long-term trend of renewable energies and gas replacing coal in Europe, according to a report by the think-tank Ember released today. “Legislation is the only way to guarantee that coal plants are closed by 2030; volatile gas prices have made it clear
As the EU surpassed its target of 20% sustainable energy usage in 2020, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) high achiever was Latvia 42.1%, which was in 3rd place in the bloc as a whole, new Eurostat figures show. In total, 7 CEE countries were above the EU average
Austria loosened its movement restrictions on unvaccinated people on Monday, with a compulsory vaccination policy due to enter into force on Tuesday. Unvaccinated Austria residents have mostly been confined to their homes since 15 November. The government’s enforced vaccination is the first such mandate in the European Union. Fines
The population of Poland has fallen 1% in the last ten years, according to the country’s 2021 census data, which was released on Thursday. The number of people living in Central and Eastern Europe’s most populous country was 38,510,000 in 2011, but by 2021 that figure
Romania’s GDP should grow 4.5% both this year and next, after a 6.3% expansion last year, according to a report released Friday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The positive projection came three days after Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia were announced as the three
Private sector wages in Czechia are rising by as much as 20%, Czech Radio found when it interviewed employment industry experts this week. High inflation and rocketing energy prices while the government has chosen to freeze salaries for civil servants, means companies are having to hike salaries to keep employees.