COVID-19 and Trump’s indifference helped human rights abusers in 2020
Belarusian government sees $2bn of withdrawals, issues $580mn worth of bonds in 2020
Lukashenko: I am no enemy of the people
Storming parliaments: New Europe's greatest hits
One of Russia’s biggest wood product companies, Segezha could be Sistema’s next IPO
The volume of the Russian National Wealth Fund tops $183.93bn as gold overtakes dollar asset for first time
EU to begin certifying Russian Sputnik V vaccine for use in Europe
New Ukrainian VC firm QPDigital aims to invest up to $100 million in digital startups
EBRD investments reach record €11bn in pandemic-struck 2020
FPRI BMB Ukraine: Most Ukrainians are optimistic about 2021 – poll
OUTLOOK 2021 Lithuania
EBRD says loan to Estonia’s controversial Porto Franco project was never disbursed
Estonian premier quits after Tallinn development scandal
Top Centre Party official suspected of corruption in Tallinn real estate scandal
Czech Pirates and Mayors approve final coalition agreement for 2021 elections
OUTLOOK 2021 Czechia
BRICKS & MORTAR: Rosier future beckons for CEE retailers after year of change and disruption
Romanian tech entrepreneurs expand into banking sector
OUTLOOK 2021 Hungary
Hungarian government remains silent after Capitol riots
World Bank expects modest recovery for Europe and Central Asia in 2021
FDI inflows to CEE down 58% in 1H20 but rebound expected
OUTLOOK 2021 Slovakia
Slovakia to invest €1.2bn in digitisation
BALKAN BLOG: The controversial recipe for building up Albania
Heavy flooding causes chaos in parts of Southeast Europe
Vodafone Albania plans €100mn infrastructure investments after AbCom merger
OUTLOOK 2021 Albania
Kyiv accuses Bosnian President Dodik of lying about icon gifted to Russian foreign minister
Bosnia’s real GDP contracts 6.3% y/y in 3Q20
Sofia-based LAUNCHub Ventures holds first close of new fund on €44mn
ING THINK: Growth in the Balkans: from zero to hero again?
OUTLOOK 2020 Bulgaria
Labour demand down 28% y/y in Croatia in 2020
Zagreb Stock Exchange's Crobex10 index at highest level since March 5
OUTLOOK 2021 Kosovo
Arrera Automobili aims to launch Albania’s first supercar
World Bank revises projection for Moldova’s 2020 GDP decline to 7.2%
Moldova’s PM resigns to prepare the ground for early elections
Socialist lawmakers in Moldova scrap settlement on $1bn bank frauds
Montenegro’s new ruling coalition carves up top state jobs
OUTLOOK 2021 Montenegro
Vast tide of floating waste threatens Balkan hydropower plants
North Macedonia's manufacturing confidence indicator down by 8.5 pp y/y in December
OUTLOOK 2021 North Macedonia
Transparency International warns of high corruption risk in CEE defence sectors
Moldova fears flooding from Ukraine's planned Dniester hydropower plants
Romania’s industrial recovery paused in November
OUTLOOK 2021 Serbia
Slovenia’s opposition files no-confidence motion against Jansa cabinet
UK Moneyhub picks Slovenia for post-Brexit European base
Slovenia’s dire COVID-19 situation in 4Q20 caused second economic dip
Slovenia’s Eligma completes €4mn funding round
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Let’s tentatively pencil in a date for Turkey’s hot money outflow
Turkish opposition leader lawsuit demands one lira from Erdogan, police probe “bald” interior minister posts
OUTLOOK 2021 Armenia
Armenia’s PM cautions conflict with Azerbaijan “still not settled” after trilateral meeting with Putin
COMMENT: Record high debt levels will slow post-coronavirus recovery, threaten some countries' financial stability, says IIF
Russia, Kazakhstan pushing for oil production increases on the back of coronavirus vaccine-fuelled oil price optimism
OUTLOOK 2021 Georgia
Georgia’s political kingpin Bidzina Ivanishvili quits politics
Modern-day “Robin Hood” inspires Georgians drowning in debt
Iran’s navy conducts missile drill while analyst argues Trump even capable of nuclear strike in final days
TEHRAN BLOG: Who’s more credible? Johnson backing Trump’s Nobel chances or Iran applauding arrest warrant for US president?
STOLYPIN: Scope for limited progress under Biden, so long as the past remains the past
Central Asia vaccination plans underwhelm, but governments look unruffled
Fears of authoritarianism as Kyrgyz populist wins landslide and backing for ‘Khanstitution’
OUTLOOK 2021 Kyrgyzstan
Mongolia's winter dzud set to be one of most extreme on record says Red Cross
Mongolian coal exports to China paralysed as Beijing demands virus testing of truck drivers
Mongolia fears economic damage as country faces up to its first local transmissions of coronavirus
Mongolia in lockdown after suffering first local coronavirus transmissions
OUTLOOK 2021 Tajikistan
China business briefing: Not happy with Kyrgyzstan
OUTLOOK 2021 Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan: How the Grinch stole New Year
Turkmenistan: The dammed united
COMMENT: Uzbekistan is being transformed, but where are the democratic reforms?
OUTLOOK 2021 Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s Makro positions itself for growth in a more competitive market
Download the pdf version
More...
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced a curfew for the entire territory of Hungary from March 28 until April 11. People are only allowed to leave their homes to go to work or to run essential errands, Hungary's right-wing leader said in an interview with public radio on March 27. Hungary has 300 confirmed cases, which is due to the lack of adequate testing. The government expects the epidemic to peak around June or July.
Hungary introduced a state of emergency on March 11, first banning all outdoor and indoor gatherings of more than 500 and 100 respectively. Schools and universities were shut down a few days later. No entry into Hungary was allowed from Italy, China, South Korea or Iran, and controls were reinstated at the Schengen borders.
On March 16 Hungary shut down its borders and allowed only Hungarian citizens to enter. All public events were scrapped, but cafes, restaurants, and non-essential stores were allowed to be open until 3pm. Pharmacies, tobacconists, grocery stores and petrol stations can remain open without restrictions.
The government has launched stay-at-home campaigns in the media targeting mostly the elderly, but the movement of citizens has not been restricted until now.
Orban said the restrictions introduced so far have been effective as the number of social contacts was reduced to a tenth of what it was before. However, traffic in some Budapest districts was dense and many pensioners were seen walking around parks and shops without any protective gear.
From Saturday grocery shops and pharmacies will be open to people above 65 years of age between 9am and 12 noon every day. Others will not be allowed in those shops during that period,
The decree stipulates conditions when people are allowed to leave home, which includes going to work, buying essential items, taking children to daycare, fulfilling medical needs, or doing individual sporting activities.
The decree states that the number of social contacts should be kept to a minimum and it calls for keeping a 1.5-metre distance in public. Only employees are allowed to be in restaurants and other places of hospitality services. Food delivery and takeout orders are still possible.
Police will be enforcing these restrictions with other law enforcement agencies, according to the decree. Fines up to HUF500,000 (€1,410) may be imposed on people breaching quarantine rules.
Orban announced that so-called hospital commanders will be appointed by the government to head all Hungarian hospitals from Monday. Doctors will still decide on medical matters, but compliance with the stated epidemiological regulations will be overseen by the commanders. Also, the uniformed hospital commanders will be in charge of supplies and staff management.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hungary has reached 300, the government website koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday. This is a daily increase of 39. The number of deaths remains at ten.
Of the 300 confirmed cases, 10 are Iranian, two are British, one is Kazakh, another Vietnamese, and the remaining 286 are Hungarian, it said.
The epidemic in Hungary is at the stage of transmissions in communities, medical officials said, adding that infected people can be found all over the country. The number of full recoveries has gone up to 34 from 28. There are 84 people are in quarantine and a total of 9,275 test samples have been taken since the start of the epidemic.
The epidemic is expected to peak in Hungary between June and July, cabinet chief Gergely Gulyas announced on Thursday. Estimates of virologists, epidemiologists, and mathematicians range within wide limits. However, it is clear that we have to be prepared for months to increase the number of infections and diseases with the spread of the new coronavirus, he added.
Register here to continue reading this article and 5 more for free or purchase 12 months full website access including the bne Magazine for just $250/year.
Register to read the bne monthly magazine for free:
Already registered
Password could contain only a-z0-9\+*?[^]$(){}=!<>|:-_ characters and have 8-20 symbols length.
Please complete your registration by confirming your email address.
A confirmation email has been sent to the email address you provided.
Forgotten password?
Email field can't be empty.
No user with this email address.
Access recovery request has expired, or you are using the wrong recovery token. Please, try again.
Access recover request has expired. Please, try again.
To continue viewing our content you need to complete the registration process.
Please look for an email that was sent to with the subject line "Confirmation bne IntelliNews access". This email will have instructions on how to complete registration process. Please check in your "Junk" folder in case this communication was misdirected in your email system.
If you have any questions please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
Sorry, but you have used all your free articles fro this month for bne IntelliNews. Subscribe to continue reading for only $119 per year.
Your subscription includes:
For the meantime we are also offering a free subscription to bne's digital weekly newspaper to subscribers to the online package.
Click here for more subscription options, including to the print version of our flagship monthly magazine:
More subscription options
Take a trial to our premium daily news service aimed at professional investors that covers the 30 countries of emerging Europe:
Get IntelliNews PRO
For any other enquiries about our products or corporate discounts please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
If you no longer wish to receive our emails, unsubscribe here.
Magazine annual electronic subscription
Magazine annual print subscription
Website & Archive annual subscription
Combined package: web access & magazine print annual subscription