Central Europe

In the Czech Republic, tensions stirred by President Miloš Zeman, who calls himself “the Czech Trump”, are making themselves felt.

Romanian police have smashed, with the help of European law enforcement agencies, a computer fraud gang accused of stealing millions of euros from unsuspecting victims, officials said Thursday (17 November).

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said he will resign after Socialist-backed candidate, Rumen Radev,  a newcomer to politics, won the run-off of presidential election yesterday (13 November), by a landslide.

Czech President Miloš Zeman declared on Wednesday (9 November) he was "very happy" with Donald Trump's election victory, saying the Republican cut through political correctness and addressed key issues like migration.

Hungary's parliament on Tuesday  (8 November) narrowly rejected a plan by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to ban the resettlement of migrants in the country, a setback for the maverick leader that could weaken him in his fight against EU migration policies.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will seek today (8 November) to bar the resettlement of refugees via a constitutional amendment, but the bid could be thwarted by an unlikely opponent -- the radical right Jobbik party.

Bulgaria's Socialist-backed candidate, Rumen Radev, led the first round of Bulgaria's presidential election, partial official results showed early today (7 November), ahead of his main rival from the ruling centre-right GERB party.

Poland's foreign minister on Friday (28 October) said his right-wing government rejects the EU executive's recommendations regarding how to solve a constitutional crisis that has raised concerns at home and abroad.

Hungary will sue the European Commission and resist mandatory migrant resettlement quotas if Brussels does not take them off the agenda, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday (28 October).

Bulgaria and Romania agreed today (21 October) that their deal to obtain visa-free travel would be part of the CETA agreement, answering the concerns of the Belgian region of Wallonia. A couple of hours later they realised that they made the wrong decision.

Sixty years ago, Soviet tanks crushed an anti-communist uprising in Budapest, sending 200,000 Hungarians - men women and children - fleeing across the border into Austrian refugee camps, then onwards into a welcoming Western world.

The Commission told EurActiv today (20 October) that Hungarian Commissioner Tibor Navracsics had clarified with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that his commitment to the EU remains “unshaken”, despite the fact that he voted against the Commission’s policies in the Hungarian referendum.

Today, bioeconomy is a necessity, said Slovak Minister of Agriculture Gabriela Matečná. Central and Eastern Europe is still lagging behind in its uptake, but the key to the transition may be in the regions. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Former MEP Ivailo Kalfin, a familiar face in Brussels where he comes regularly as member of the Monti group of the future EU budget, told EurActiv about the upcoming presidential elections in Bulgaria on 6 November, where he is one of the 21 candidates.

The negotiations haven't even started yet, with the now infamous Article 50 yet to be triggered by Theresa May's government. Things are starting to take shape and the news will come thick and fast. Follow EurActiv's live feed for all the latest developments and talking points.

The German government yesterday (12 October) approved a new law to curb social benefits for EU citizens who arrive in the country without a job, as it responds to pressure to get tough on migrants.

Hungary's largest broadsheet newspaper Népszabadság has stopped publication, with journalists and the opposition alleging government pressure.

The EU's Hungarian Commissioner, Tibor Navracsics, said in his home country that he had voted 'no' in last weekend's referendum, in which Hungarians were asked whether they approved EU-wide quotas to relocate asylum seekers.

The poor result obtained by EU Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva in the vote to elect the next UN Secretary General took people out onto the streets of Sofia yesterday (6 October), while the opposition called for her resignation as Bulgaria's EU Commissioner.

The EU launched its beefed-up border force today (6 October) in a rare show of unity at a symbolic location – the Bulgarian-Turkeis border guarded by a metal fence and razor wire.

Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has looked firmly in control since sweeping to power a year ago but it may have pressed its conservative agenda too far by initially backing a virtual ban on abortion.