Hungary
Hungarian finance minister suggests raising bank levy to cover rising budget deficit
Central bank governor clashes with finance minister over who bears responsibility for the EU’s highest inflation.
Hungary indicates it will continue to block Sweden’s Nato ratification
Ruling Fidesz faction leader now uses "defamatory" film by Sweden’s public television as excuse for delaying Sweden's accession to Nato.
Hungary faces steep demographic decline in coming decades
Population will decline below 9mn by 2043 from 9.63mn today and 10.7mn in 1980.
Hungarian industrial production falls 2.6% y/y in July
Automotive production rose 14.4% y/y in July, slowing from a 19.1% increase in the previous month.
Poland gives EU “ultimatum” on Ukrainian grain imports
Kyiv has said that it will take legal action against those EU member states that impose national bans against EU-wide trade rules.
Sending Soviet tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia was a mistake, says Putin
"It is not right to do anything in foreign policy that harms the interests of other peoples," says Russian dictator who has fought a vicious war against Ukraine that is already being investigated for war crimes.
Czech oil imports from Russia rose to a decade high in 1H23
Share of Russian crude oil imports into Czechia is the highest since 2012 at 65%.
Hungarian government backs down from solar energy regime changes
The government has faced an unusually stern criticism from the Fidesz faction for retroactively altering financial conditions for homes bound by existing contracts
Disinflationary trends continue in Hungary in August
Headline data slowed to 16.4% y/y from 17.6% in July, while core inflation eased to 15.2% in August from 17.5% in July.
Only 11 countries are reducing emissions and all will miss Paris targets - Lancet
Green growth is not yet happening in any advanced economies – and high-income countries are not on track achieve enough emissions reduction without more far profound changes in consumption.
Samsung SDI to invest €58mn in R&D project in Hungary
Project will be the biggest R&D investment in Hungary to date, as country strives to become a global hub for EV battery production.
Corporate and retail lending growth slows in Hungary in Q2
MNB director Balint Dancsi said lending is clearly slowing down in Hungary in line with international trends.
Hungarian competition office inspectors raid Budapest office of Booking.com
Probe launched into debts owed to Hungarian tourism accommodation operators that Booking.com blamed on a change of accounting and bookkeeping software.
Putin slams door shut on any quick revival of Black Sea grain deal
Meeting with Turkish counterpart Erdogan produces no tangible sign that Moscow is preparing to budge on allowing Ukrainian ships safe passage.
Ukraine threatens legal action over any extension of Polish and Hungarian grain import bans
Kyiv says that any decisions regarding the sale of Ukrainian grain in the EU must stick to the rules of the single market and the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
Three bidders shortlisted for Czech parcels delivery company Packeta
Private equity firm Advent International, Czech financial group PPF, and Czech energy tycoon Daniel Kretinsky remain among the bidders.
Hungarian COVID-19 ventilator procurement mired in corruption
Transparency International finally wins access to documents exposing overpayments to companies close to the ruling Fidesz party after a two-year battle.
Russian textbook calling 1956 Hungarian revolution a fascist uprising puts Orban in tight spot
Kremlin-friendly government has yet to denounce textbook attacking the 1956 revolutionaries, a key source of identity for many Fidesz supporters.
Hungarian central bank continues monetary easing with 100bp rate cut
The reference overnight deposit rate is now at 14%, which is only 100bp above the base rate at 13%.
Slovak refinery Slovnaft wants prolongation of exemption from Russian oil embargo
The exemption for Slovnaft is in place until December due to Slovakia’s and Hungary’s high dependency on Russian crude.