Central East Europe / Features
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.
Slovenian consumers take energy giant GEN-I to court over price hikes
The Slovene Consumers’ Association accused GEN-I of unlawfully raising household prices at the height of the recent energy crisis.
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.
Poland’s political arch-rivals kick off 2027 campaign marathon
Poland’s two largest political parties have fired the opening shots of the 2027 general election campaign, holding back-to-back conventions to set out rival visions for the country.
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.
Slovenia confronts its ageing challenge with contested pension reform
As Slovenia’s population ages, the overhaul of the pension system is becoming one of its defining political struggles of the decade.
EBRD warns CEE competitiveness at risk as China’s export power grows
China's exports have become more similar to those from Central Europe and Turkey, as its share in global manufacturing exports surges.
Hungary's Fidesz on the defensive after paedophile allegations against high-level government officials
Claims senior politicians could have shielded the director of Budapest-based juvenile correctional institution Szolo Street have the potential to become a "Hungarian Epstein case".
Poland building a drone wall to protect Europe
Poland will lead an effort to build a “drone wall” to block Europe’s airspace to swarms of Russian UAVs should a pan-regional war ever break out.
EBRD says geopolitics, tariffs and China competition weigh on Emerging Europe growth
Development bank downgrades 2025 forecasts for Central and Eastern Europe citing weak external demand, rising debt and the impact of US tariffs.
EU launches red-tape cutting reforms seeking to make Europe competitive again
Brussels will start cutting red tape with the so-called omnibus legislation this autumn as it sets out to make Europe competitive again, Politico reported on September 17.
Polish border shutdown poses questions on Asia-Europe rail freight
The closure of Poland’s crossings with Belarus on September 12 has rattled transport and logistics companies, which warn that a prolonged halt could drive cargo away from the country, disrupt supply chains and inflate costs for businesses,
The European Commission proposes to “creatively” tap Russia’s $300bn of frozen assets with Reparation Loans
The European Commission is floating a new idea of how to “creatively” tap Russia’s $300bn of frozen assets without the need to appropriate, which is legally questionable, by replacing the money transferred to Kyiv with EU-backed bonds.
_WIKI_COMMONS_Cropped_7_1757915894.jpg)
Will Poland’s defence splurge spark an economic boom?
Poland’s rapid defence spending rise won’t translate into a broader economic boom unless deeper structural shifts will happen that will take bolder reforms.
Businesses fear Slovenia’s cannabis reform to create a workforce of stoners
Allowing limited personal use of cannabis poses serious risks for workplace safety, liability and public trust, employers tell bne IntelliNews.
INTERVIEW: Slovenia’s sovereign sustainability-linked bond could catalyse Europe’s stalled SLB market
First European sovereign SLB paves the way for other European sovereigns and corporates to follow, IEEFA sustainable finance analyst Kevin Leung tells bne IntelliNews.
Poland faces political paralysis as leadership divide deepens
Poland’s mounting conflict between nationalist President Karol Nawrocki and pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk is paralysing governance and undermining credibility abroad.
LONG READ: Europeans face recession, financial crises, as they struggle to boost defence spending
US President Donald Trump has dropped the burden of supplying and supporting Ukraine’s battle against Russia firmly in Europe’s lap. But cash-strapped and with the UK and France on the verge of crisis, they are going to struggle to manage.
INTERVIEW: How tiny Slovenia’s equity market outpaced global peers
InterCapital’s Divo Pulitika analyses why Slovenia and Romania have quietly delivered some of the best equity market returns in the world over the past decade — and whether this can continue.