Central Europe / Features
Europe's second inflation shock is arriving in two waves, energy now and food next year
Central bankers do not usually forecast the weather. The European Central Bank's chief economist has just put one into his.
Nato has no plan for a joint Russia-China attack, its own strategists say
The scenario that keeps Western planners awake is easy to describe and, it turns out, almost entirely unstudied: Russia moves on a Nato member while China moves on Taiwan.
Belgium leads EU buyers as Russian LNG sales to the bloc jump 57%
The EU bought €809mn of Russian liquefied natural gas in June, 57% more than a year earlier, with Belgium the single biggest buyer.
IntelliNews Lambda: Europe's gas storage hurts German, Netherlands the most, the rest of EU not so much
Underground gas storage facilities across the European Union are 57.9% full - the lowest level ever recorded for early August since comparable data began around 2009-11 - leaving Europe with a badly depleted buffer heading into winter, RBC...
The Global North's missile crisis
Washington's own stockpile is depleted and its arms industry is scrambling to catch up; Kyiv is chasing spare interceptors from allies who increasingly need their own; and a $300mn arms deal with Turkey, while welcome, does...
IntelliNews Lambda: EU gas storage refill lags badly, on track to miss 90% November target
EU gas storage is refilling at one of its slowest paces in 15 years, and the numbers say the bloc has almost no chance of reaching its 90% target by November.
Ukraine's interceptor missiles run dry as Zelenskiy scours the world for more
Ukraine's stockpile of air-defence interceptor missiles is running down to zero this week, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's mounting desperation as the hunt for replacement ammunition fails is becoming impossible to hide, with the...
INTERVIEW: Hungarian deep-tech Edortech eyes global battery market with patented tin-alloy anode platform
CEO Adam Vida talks to IntelliNews about Edortech's ONLi platform and its ambitions to build a European supply chain for next-generation batteries.
Drought grips Central Europe, disrupting nuclear power, shipping and agriculture
Europe's worst drought in decades has brought shipping on parts of the Danube to a standstill, threatened nuclear power generation and exposed growing vulnerabilities as climate change pushes temperatures to unprecedented levels.
Germany now pays five times more for gas after ditching Russian imports
Germany is paying roughly five times more for natural gas than it did before abandoning long-term Russian supply contracts, Berliner Zeitung reported on July 24.
AI boom gives Poland and Hungary new export opportunities
Central European economies are emerging as unexpected beneficiaries of the global artificial intelligence boom, with Poland and Hungary seeing growth in exports linked to AI infrastructure.
Russian refining down to record lows, LNG exports to Europe at record highs
Russia’s crude output declined to the lowest in at least two and a half years in June as Ukraine attacked the nation’s oil infrastructure on an almost daily basis. But LNG production remains untouched and exports to Europe are at record highs.
Erdogan's revolver diplomacy left Nato leaders with a loaded problem
Most Nato summits end with a communiqué. This one ended with customs problems. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan each each visiting head of state with an engraved Turkish-made gun complete with live ammo.
Slovenia heads into peak tourist season on a high, but staffing pressures persist
Tourism plays a vital role in Slovenia's economy, contributing 5.4% directly to GDP and 8.7% overall once indirect effects are taken into account.
Krško second reactor remains central to Slovenia’s energy strategy in shifting political landscape
New government to accelerate JEK2 project to as one of Slovenia’s key strategic energy projects, energy ministry tells IntelliNews.
Can geothermal power Central Europe’s energy transition?
The appeal of geothermal power is strong in a region where the 2022 gas crisis exposed the strategic vulnerability created by dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Global growth to stabilise in 3Q26 as Iran ceasefire eases energy shock - Erste Bank
A framework agreement between Washington and Tehran has already pulled oil prices lower, but Erste Group's quarterly outlook warns the inflationary scar tissue from the conflict will outlast the crisis itself across the world.
Ahead of Nato summit with Trump, Ankara splashes paint on VIP route homes, detains hundreds
Security forces boost detention numbers by holding 44 bird watchers who crossed paths with a mining protest.
INTERVIEW: Estonia grapples with fiscal strain as surging defence spending tests budget
Estonia faces a difficult path back to fiscal balance after more than doubling defence spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi tells IntelliNews.
Bulgaria the latest addition to the EU’s Excessive Deficit Club
Bulgaria has barely had time to celebrate joining the eurozone monetary union at the start of this year before the European Commission is set to turn around and throw it into the rapidly growing financial delinquents club.