Visegrad
Slovak farmers concerned over lack of plan for agricultural subsidies
The largest Slovak agricultural association, the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPKK), is has raised concerns that Agriculture Minister Ján Mičovský (Ordinary People Party – OĽaNO) may have failed to prepare a strategic plan under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),...
Budapest left out of revenue compensating COVID-19 funds
Budapest and all districts of the Hungarian capital were excluded from the €64 million (HUF 23 billion) in state support meant to alleviate the budgetary pressure caused by the government’s decision to support businesses struggling with the pandemic-induced economic hardships...
Poland’s disciplinary mechanism for judges violates EU law
The disciplinary system of judges recently adopted in Poland is “contrary to EU law” because it allows for disciplinary proceedings to be taken against judges based on the content of their decisions, the EU Court’s Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev said...
Hungarian opposition to file police complaint after MP attends vote with virus
Hungarian opposition parties Párbeszéd (Dialogue) and Momentum have filed complaints against ruling Fidesz party lawmaker Zsolt Becsó after he attended a parliamentary session last week while infected with the coronavirus.
Slovak parliament deputy speaker resigns after breach of curfew
The Slovak parliament’s deputy speaker, Juraj Šeliga (Za ľudí) stepped down from his post on Wednesday after holding a late-night meeting in a downtown club in Bratislava. Last week, Slovakian tabloid Plus 7 dní captured footage of Šeliga meeting with...
Czech Deputy PM files civil suit against article accusing him of Russia collusion
Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Hamáček said on Wednesday he is filing a civil complaint about an article alleging he collaborated with Russia. The article published in SeznamZpravy.cz. accused Hamáček of considering negotiating with Moscow an exchange for...
Poland eyes J&J vaccines from Denmark
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has made an offer to the Danish authorities for Poland to buy back doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson after the product was pulled from the Danish vaccination programme due to...
Orbán has begun taking steps to preserve his power
With barely a year until what looks to be a tight election in Hungary, the government is shifting considerable amounts of public assets away from the state and into foundations. The goal could be to sustain Viktor Orbán’s "System of National Cooperation" (NER) should he lose the 2022 election. EURACTIV's media partner Telex takes a closer look.
Polish president to meet with B-9 leaders ahead of NATO summit
Polish President Andrzej Duda will travel to Bucharest to meet his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis next Monday for a joint teleconference meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B-9) group. The head of the National Security Bureau, Paweł Soloch, announced...
Hungary may see takeovers of last free media, experts warn
Recent reports have confirmed the negative trend for media freedom in Hungary but also pointed to Budapest's negative impact on press freedom in neighbouring countries. On World Press Freedom Day (3 May), EURACTIV talked to two of the main experts on Hungarian media.
600,000 Slovaks sign referendum for early election
More than 600,000 signatures calling for early elections were handed to Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová Monday, though many constitutional lawyers in the country consider the move to be unconstitutional. The petition was initiated by opposition parties Smer, Hlas and nationalist...
Trust in EU increased among Czechs during pandemic
According to the recent Eurobarometer survey, Czechs’ trust in the EU has increased from 39% in 2020 to 48% currently, as the country abandoned its traditional euroscepticism during the pandemic. While the EU’s popularity is on the rise, trust in...
Eastern European presidents mark Polish-Lithuanian constitution
The presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine and Poland met in Warsaw on Monday to mark the 230th anniversary of the constitution adopted by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Presidents Gitanas Nausėda, Egils Levits, Kersti Kaljulaid, Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Andrzej Duda underlined...
Jourová: Commission unable to act on Orbán-ally Hungarian media giant
KESMA, an Orbán-ally conglomerate comprising nearly 500 media groups, was in financial terms too small for intervention as competition law was designed for bigger mergers, European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová told Euronews on Monday (3 May). In 2016, a complaint was filed...
Slovenia and Hungary mutually recognise vaccination certificates
While talks continue at the EU level on proposed common COVID-19 vaccination certificates, Slovenia and Hungary have decided to press ahead bilaterally, and mutually recognise their respective certificates. The Slovenian foreign ministry announced this weekend that a vaccination certificate issued...
Crowds fail to keep measures as Budapest nightlife returns
Youth celebrating further relaxation of measures partied hard in the centre of the Hungarian capital on Saturday as nightlife returned to the city after the country hit 4 million vaccinated last week. Young people failed to keep social distancing rules...
Czechia to test COVID-19 certificates in next two weeks
According to Czech Television, technical testing of the digital green certificates will start in two weeks, making Czechia among the first group of countries where the certificates will be tested during May. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders confirmed that certificates...
Poland to further discuss draft recovery plan
The national recovery plan (NPR), which was submitted last Friday and outlines how funds from the EU’s recovery plan will be allocated, will be discussed in the parliament’s lower house known as the Sejm on Tuesday. The draft law focuses...
Bratislava port to get its own €40 million LNG terminal
Slovakia is to get a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal worth €40 million aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants in inland waterway transport on the Danube river, the state-owned investor Public Ports company has said. The LNG terminal would...
EU Parliament supports Czechia, calls on EU to expel Russian diplomats
The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling on EU countries to coordinate the expulsion of Russian diplomats in reaction to the 2014 Vrbetice ammunition depot explosion in the Czech Republic. According to Czech secret services, Russian GRU agents...
Polish recovery plan sent to Brussels, despite divided opinions
Poland will submit its national recovery plan to the European Commission on Friday despite the document still dividing the Polish political scene. The plan was adopted because of an agreement between the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the...
Slovakia proposes to reallocate €1 billion in EU funds to Bratislava
A Slovak ministry has proposed a reallocation of €1 billion from the European structural and investments funds on Wednesday. As EURACTIV Slovakia reported, Bratislava was supposed to only have an allocation of €20 million, due to the EU’s money allocation...
Prague space agency to get competency boost
MEPs on Wednesday approved a new European Space programme with a seven-year budget of €14.8 billion uniting all EU space activities in one place and expanding the scope and strengthening the competencies of Prague-based European GNSS Agency (GSA). The decision...