Hungary
Hungary expects record US investments in 2025, FM says ahead of Orbán-Trump meeting
American corporate investments totalling around HUF190bn (€490mn) will flow into Hungary this year, the highest level in a decade, reflecting the new golden era of bilateral relations since US President Donald Trump took office.
Revolut receives green light from central bank to launch Hungarian branch
Revolut has grown into a significant competitor for traditional Hungarian banks, particularly in foreign exchange and money transfers.
Poland plans to become US gas hub to supply Slovakia and Ukraine
Poland will seek to become a regional distribution centre for American gas to supply neighbouring Slovakia and Ukraine, President Andrzej Nawrocki said while on a visit to Bratislava.
EU ministers agree on weaker 2040 EU climate goal with CEE opposed
Poland and three other Central European EU member states voted against a new bloc-wide climate target.
Ukraine gets a B grade from EU: good, but more work needed
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected a two-tier solution proposed by Brussels to accelerate Ukraine’s EU accession bid, after the European Commission (EC) released a progress report on November 4.
Emerging Asia overtakes the UK per-capita benchmark
For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the major emerging economies including China, India and Indonesia have seen GDP as a percentage of the UK’s GDP increase as the leading BRICS countries start to overtake the Developed Markets.
Hungary, US set to deepen nuclear energy ties during Orbán’s White House visit
Viktor Orban, seeking to secure a temporary waiver from US sanctions on Russian oil, will propose a pragmatic energy deal to Washington, offering deeper cooperation in the LNG and nuclear sectors.
COMMENT: Czechia economy powering ahead, Hungary’s economy stalls
Early third-quarter GDP figures from Central Europe point to a growing divergence between the region’s two largest economies outside Poland, with Czechia accelerating its recovery while Hungary continues to struggle.
Viktor Orban facing delicate balancing act to persuade Donald Trump to ease pressure on Hungary over Russian sanctions
The Hungarian prime minister, long admired in MAGA circles and hailed by Donald Trump as a “great leader” now finds himself for the first time at odds with the US president over the latest US sanctions on Russia.
The Arctic and Antarctica record "off the charts" heat as polar warming accelerates
Parts of both the Arctic and Antarctic have experienced historically high temperatures in recent weeks, with weather stations in East Antarctica recording record-breaking warmth for the month of October, alarming climate scientists.
European diplomacy should have stopped war, Orban tells Italian broadcaster
The job of European diplomacy would have been stopping the war in Ukraine, but Brussels has become "irrelevant" by deciding not to negotiate, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told an Italian TV channel on October 28.
CEE needs a new growth model as FDI plunges
wiiw economist Richard Grieveson says the CEE region’s long-standing model of attracting FDI through low labour costs no longer works.
Estonia has the world’s most competitive tax systems for the 11th year in a row – STATISTA
The Tax Foundation has released its International Tax Competitiveness Index which highlights the most competitive tax rates in different countries around the world. For the 11th consecutive year, Estonia had the highest score in the index.
EU rare earth supply dominated by China and Russia - Eurostat
The European Union remains heavily dependent on China and Russia for rare earth imports, with nearly three-quarters of its supply sourced from the two countries in 2024, according to data published by Eurostat and reported by Statista.
COMMENT: Europe’s “fake it till you make it” war approach cannot hold off Russia’s trillion dollar war machine
In their speeches on the war in Ukraine, European leaders appear like a video clip looped on repeat. Standing before the cameras they declare new packages of support for Kyiv and threaten new measures to pressure Russia as if it was still 2022.
Draghi urges ‘pragmatic federalism’ as EU faces defeat in Ukraine and economic crises
The European Union must embrace “pragmatic federalism” to respond to mounting global and internal challenges, said former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi of Europe’s failure to face an accelerating slide into irrelevance.
Emerging Europe’s growth holds up but risks loom, says wiiw
Fiscal fragility, weakening industrial demand from Germany, and the prolonged fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine threaten to undermine growth momentum in parts of the region.
Hungarian foreign minister says "many actors" worked to prevent Budapest summit
The White House has suspended plans for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
Hungary’s central bank leaves rates unchanged
National Bank of Hungary expects inflation to fall back into the tolerance band by early 2026, with the 3% target sustainably achievable in early 2027 under the current strict policy settings.