Slovakia
EU disunity deepens as foreign policy chief Kallas’ job comes under attack
France and Germany are discussing proposals for a radical overhaul of the EU’s 15-year-old diplomatic service and cutting the powers of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in an attempt to improve the bloc’s response to geopolitical crises.
EBRD2026: EBRD, EU expand InvestEU support with €478mn in new guarantees
Additional guarantees to enable EBRD to finance higher-risk projects that may otherwise struggle to secure commercial funding.
Russian oil flows through Druzhba return to normal as Hungary and Slovakia resume Russian oil and gas imports
Russian crude oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline returned to normal levels in May, marking the first full month of uninterrupted supplies since transit resumed in April after a dispute.
COMMENT: Europe risks becoming a ‘vassal’ unless it relearns power politics, Sciences Po chief warns
Europe is in a historic decline that threatens its economic model, political autonomy and global influence, and lacks the intellectual framework needed to reverse the trend, according to the head of France's elite Sciences Po university.
Middle East conflict and energy shock slow growth across EBRD regions
Bank warns higher energy costs are reigniting inflation, weakening industrial competitiveness and straining already fragile public finances
German business returns to Russia for St Petersburg Investment forum
A group of German business figures is set to attend Russia’s flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which kicks off on June 3, marking a return of top German companies to Russia’s flagship event.
Bulgaria the latest addition to the EU’s Excessive Deficit Club
Bulgaria has barely had time to celebrate joining the eurozone monetary union at the start of this year before the European Commission is set to turn around and throw it into the rapidly growing financial delinquents club.
From Soviet antihistamine to Alzheimer's breakthrough: a UK biotech bets on a molecule the world forgot
A small UK-registered biotech company believes it has found an Alzheimer's treatment that is safer, cheaper and more effective than anything currently on the market — and it has done so by revisiting a molecule first synthesised by Soviet chemists.
Germany’s gas grid operators warn they may fail to secure suffiencent supplies to make it through the coming winter
Germany’s gas grid operators have warned that current market conditions and storage rules may be insufficient to secure supplies through the coming winter.
The Iberian blackout was a grid failure, not a renewables failure
When the lights went out across almost all of Spain and Portugal last year in one of the biggest blackouts since the war, experts quickly blamed the explosion of renewable generating capacity as the cause. They were partly right.
Czech government mulls sale of Semtex producer Explosia
Proposed sale of Explosia met with criticism from Czech defence and foreign policy experts who argue the country should not lose control over the strategically important plant.
Eastern EU faces mounting demographic strain as populations shrink and age, Eurostat says
While the EU’s total population rose slightly, many eastern member states continued to lose population over the longer term through emigration, low fertility and high mortality rates.
EU’s foreign policy boss Kallas is undermining Europe’s credibility
Kaja Kallas has done it again. The EU’s top foreign policy high representative called China a “cancer” that needs decisive treatment with chemotherapy rather than temporary relief with morphine.
ASH: UK cocks up on Russian sanctions
At the least a PR disaster for the UK around its Russia sanctions regime. At the worst the UK has been pushed by Trump’s war on Iran to easing up sanctions on Russia.
Germany revamps its energy laws, but risks locking itself into decades of costly gas import dependence
Germany risks locking itself into decades of costly gas import dependence unless policymakers give battery storage equal treatment in upcoming power market reforms, energy think-tank Ember has warned.
Czech weaponry companies weaken on Prague bourse after Putin hints at ending war in Ukraine
Shares of Czech defence companies listed on the Prague Stock Exchange weakened on the first day of trading this week.
Slovak PM Fico holds urgent talks with state oil company after hinting that Moscow is in energy talks with US
Fico declined to give details on the urgent meeting with Transpetrol but hinted at US interest in energy deals with Russia.
EU slams Slovakia’s Fico for Moscow Victory Day trip
European officials slammed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for his decision to travel to Moscow and attend the Russia’s Victory Day commemorations on May 9, the only European leader to attend.
Europe's rearmament programme is falling apart from the inside just when Ukraine needs it most
Europe's most ambitious attempt to coordinate its own defence — the €800bn ReArm programme launched with considerable fanfare in early 2025 — is being quietly undermined by the very governments that approved it.
The Iran war exposes fiscal fragility around the world
The Iran war has arrived at the worst possible fiscal moment for most of the world's major economies. Governments spent heavily on Covid, defence and two energy crises. Fiscal space across most of the developed world is limited or exhausted.