Visegrad
Slovak General Prosecutor to fight international crime with sanctioned Russian counterpart
General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka, who went to Moscow last week and took part in celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Office of General Prosecutor, signed a programme of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Igor Krasnov, that focuses on...
Hungary’s opposition plans to spend an extra €3.4 billion on healthcare
In the run-up to the elections in April, the opposition prime ministerial candidate Péter Márki-Zay promised to spend an extra 1,200 billion forints to reform Hungarian healthcare in line with European countries, Hungary Today reported. In a press conference on 15 January, Márki-Zay...
Czech President criticises Beijing Olympics boycott
Czech President Miloš Zeman, well-known for his good ties with Chinese and Russian leaders, criticises the diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in China. “I am fundamentally opposed to the misuse of the Olympic idea for political purposes. We...
The Bulgarian State Gas Company is under investigation
Bugaria’s state-owned gas company, Bugargaz is under investigation for a series of potential abuses, according to new Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Sunday. In recent weeks the pressure on the government over the state-owned gas operator has been increasing, along...
Poland refuses to pay fines for Turów mine, agrees to reduced payments from EU funds
The Polish government has rejected the European Commission’s order to pay outstanding fines for not complying with the EU Court of Justice’s ruling to stop the activity of the lignite mine in Turów, which was the subject of the clash...
Slovakia eyes small modular reactors for nuclear future
Slovakia is interested in small modular reactors and will support discussion about this topic at the European level, said state secretary of economy Karol Galek, who again welcomed the Commission’s proposal to include nuclear energy and natural gas in the...
Civil society demands fully-fledged international mission for Hungarian elections
Twenty Hungarian NGOs have written a letter to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) asking for a full-scale monitoring mission instead of a “limited” observation mission ahead...
Polish scientists identify gene profile in severe COVID-19 cases
In what they described as a groundbreaking discovery, scientists from the Medical University in the northeastern Polish city of Białystok have identified a genetic profile that makes people predisposed to a severe form of COVID-19. The discovered genetic variant “more...
Bad week for new government party in Czechia
The new cabinet of Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) on Thursday evening finally got the green light from the lower house of parliament, a step needed in the Czech political system. However, the success was diluted by several issues surrounding...
Polish lawmakers pass disputed bill increasing government control of schools
Poland’s Sejm on Thursday passed a bill by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, with 227 votes in favour and 214 against, which will step up government control of schools and which critics say could curb access to teaching...
Slovakia’s Hungarian minority party divided over Orban
Alliance, the Hungarian minority party in Slovakia founded by the merger in October of three political parties, all disagree on who to support in Hungary’s elections in April. While SMK (Party of the Hungarian Community) openly supports Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s...
New education law ‘brings back communist standards’, says Poland’s opposition
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the opposition clashed on Wednesday in parliament during the debate on the new amendments to the education law, which the government’s critics say will limit parents’ control over their children’s education. The...
Czech government to push through own Magnitsky Act
The new five-party governing coalition wants to propose its own Magnitsky Act, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) announced in his speech ahead of the parliament’s confidence vote. The Magnitsky Act, based on legislation introduced first in the US,...
Slovak Prosecutor General flies to Moscow to sign agreement with Russian counterpart
Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka boarded a plane to Moscow on Tuesday to attend the 300th anniversary of the Prosecutor’s Office in Russia and sign a cooperation agreement with his Russian counterpart Igor Krasnov who faces EU sanctions due to the...
Hungarian government breaks promise, uses emails to push politics
As the country enters the pre-election period, the Hungarian government has been using emails shared during the vaccination drive to promote unrelated policies despite earlier promises to only contact citizens with jab-related information, Telex reported. At the launch of the government’s official...
Polish government vows to scrap taxes on gas
In its long-awaited second “anti-inflation shield”, the government announced its plan to cut value-added tax on fuel and introduce a zero VAT rate on goods such as basic food products, fertilisers and natural gas. The significant rise in food, fuel...
Czech parliament chief urges Hungarians to kick Orbán out
Following remarks by parliament’s speaker who hoped that Hungarians drive Prime Minister Viktor Orbán out of office in the upcoming general elections, controversy has been sparked in the new Czech governing coalition. “Czechs have already driven their Babiš out. I...
Slovaks lose thousands in pensions savings per year
Pension savings worth hundreds of millions or more than a billion euros in total are being lost every year by Slovaks putting their money into the pension system’s second pillar. This loss is the policy of former PM Robert Fico’s...
Government critic acquitted of insulting Polish president
The regional court in Warsaw decided to discontinue the trial against writer Jakub Żulczyk who called President Andrzej Duda “a moron.” The decision was not welcomed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, of which Duda was a part...
Czech farmers fight over CAP Strategic plan
Small farmers are up in arms over the national strategic plan to implement the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Czechia, calling for more sustainable agricultural funding while larger farmers oppose last-minute changes. On Tuesday, the Czech Agrarian Chamber, which...
Hungarian minister certain about fourth vaccine
Minister of Human Resources responsible for healthcare Miklós Kásler said he is absolutely certain that the need for a fourth vaccination must be taken into account in an interview with InfoRádió on Monday, Telex reported. In Kásler’s view, the timing of the fourth...
Migrant care workers from Slovakia, Romania discriminated against in Austria
Thousands of women migrant care workers in Austria, mostly from Slovakia and Romania, work excessively long hours with “shockingly” poor salaries and are often subject to various forms of discrimination and abuse, Amnesty International has revealed in a report. “Women migrant workers...
Hungarian producers expect pork prices to increase
Rising costs in 2021 are likely to force pork producers to increase prices in 2022, Tamás Éder, president of the Hungarian Meat Industry Association, told Inforádió, according to Telex. The pig meat sector has experienced the impact of two viruses in recent...