News
Albania’s chief of defence set to become next president
Ruling Socialists prepare to elect their pick for president, Major General Bajram Begaj, with opposition MPs threatening a boycott.
Kyrgyzstan: Pit wall cracks raise questions over future of giant Kumtor gold mine
The president has preventively denied any future responsibility for accidents that might happen at the mine.
Estonia’s PM kicks Centre party out of governing coalition
Kallas proposes to form a new government with the Isamaa party and Social Democrats.
Oil embargo, SWIFT, Yandex CEO and National Depository part of EU’s sixth sanction package
The European Council has officially adopted the EU sixth sanction package for Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, according to the June 3 announcement and the official EU journal entry.
EU agrees to delist Russian orthodox leader from sanctions list after Hungarian pressure
The EU’s sixth sanction package against Russia can finally come into force, a month after it was first proposed.
Uzbekistan sees bread prices skyrocket
Tashkent is seeking to boost domestic flour production at a delicate time, with the war in Ukraine garbling food supply chains.
National Bank of Ukraine raises discount rates to a whopping 25%
The National Bank of Ukraine raised the discount rate by a massive 15%, from 10% to 25%, Epravda reported on June 2.
Austria and Switzerland combined: Viral maps show true size of Russia's occupation of Ukraine
Several maps showing the true size of Russia’s occupation in Ukraine have gone viral, with many Europeans left shocked when comparing the total area with their own country.
Orban wants Russian Patriach removed from EU's sanctions list
Hungary has continued to block approval of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, this time over the inclusion of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.
Russia edges closer to bond default
Missed $1.9mn interest payment triggers first default event on Russian sovereign debt for a century.
European Commission says Romania meets none of the euro adoption criteria
Romania has repeatedly pushed back its euro adoption timetable, and doesn’t plan to join the single currency area sooner than 2029.
Brussels to release recovery fund cash for Poland despite doubts over rule of law reform
Poland has reformed disciplinary regime for judges to meet EU concerns over their impact on the rule of law, but still has to reappoint sacked judges and prove new system will not be politicised.
Croatia set to become the eurozone's 20th member in January 2023
Croatia has met all conditions to adopt the euro, say new reports from the European Commission and the European Central Bank.
Turkey halts talks with Greece as Erdogan cranks up hard power foreign policy
Election clock is ticking on Turkish leader’s bid to win round Turks shocked by extent of economic crisis.
INTERVIEW: Ukraine calls for a total ban on all Russians travelling overseas
Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine’s Ambassador and Special Envoy for Sanctions, has called for a total ban on all Russian passport holders from travelling overseas in a potential major escalation of punitive measures imposed since the invasion in February.
Croatia’s Rimac Group raises €500mn in series D investment round
Croatian electric hypercar producer valued at over €2bn after funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Belarus drastically eases entry restrictions for foreigners
Belarus drastically eases entry restrictions for foreigners in an attempt to bolster tourism revenues. Apart from more people from neighbouring countries coming to visit friends and family, the Belarus' international isolation continues to increase.
Bulgaria’s deputy PM under pressure to resign over chaotic Ukraine refugee relocations
Government sends buses to seaside towns to remove 90,000 refugees from hotels ahead of tourist season, but few take up offer to move to new, undisclosed locations.
New CEO of PPF calls off takeover of Moneta Money Bank
The takeover would have created a group with a total of around 2.5 million customers in a country of 10.7 million people, putting it in third place in terms of customers.
Slovenia’s new government to realign foreign policy with core EU countries
After outgoing PM Janez Jansa's spats with Brussels, new centre-left government plans to shift away from Visegrad Group and strengthen relations with the "Germany-France-Italy axis".
