Visegrad Archives
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Slovak ministers disagree on Russian oil tax effect on prices
Finance Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) and Economy Minister Richard Sulík disagree on whether the new temporary tax on Russian oil approved by parliament on Wednesday will affect gas prices. The new temporary tax will be used by the country’s only oil …
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Visegrad plays hot potato with Ukrainian Roma refugees
Many Roma Ukrainian refugees with dual Hungarian citizenship have been shuttling between Visegrád capitals as governments refuse to provide these families with the same aid as other Ukrainians with a single passport. The Czech Republic is experiencing an influx of Roma …
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Hungarian president travels to Warsaw in bid to reinforce relations
Katalin Novák, Hungary’s newly appointed president, on her first trip abroad to Poland on Tuesday, attempted to reinforce relations as the traditional alliance between Budapest and Warsaw weathers Russia-policy divisions. After the parliamentary elections on 3 April, re-elected Prime Minister Viktor …
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Western Balkans must not be forgotten, Czech and Austrian leaders say
The integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU is in the interest of the Czech Republic and Austria, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Austrian counterpart Karl Nehammer said in Prague on Tuesday. Fiala and Nehammer met in Prague …
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Polish opposition slam EPP chief Tusk’s joint electoral list proposal
Polish opposition parties have rejected the idea of the opposition submitting a joint electoral list for the parliamentary elections in autumn 2023, which was made by the chairman of the centrist Civic Platform and European People’s Party leader Donald Tusk. Uniting …
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Slovak oil embargo exemption to benefit Hungarian MOL, not citizens
The oil embargo exemption Slovakia is asking for will not benefit citizens but the owner of the only Slovak oil refinery, Slovnaft, a subsidiary of Hungarian MOL, analysts point out. There is a “fundamental difference” between the Slovak exemption and the …
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Gazprom did not reserve gas transit capacity for June via Slovakia, Poland
Gazprom decided not to renew its capacity share via the Yamal gas pipeline that runs through Poland nor the capacity transit via Slovakia for June, Czech press agency ČTK reported based on their findings of the results of an energy …
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Orban’s re-election wishes cause backlash
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was reelected by the country’s legislature for a fourth consecutive term on Monday amid social media backlash for EU leaders’ congratulations. “We are plagued by economic woes, war, Europe’s intellectual weakness and Brussels’ political delusion all …
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Poland to soon receive EU recovery funds after striking deal with Commission
The Polish government has reached an agreement with the EU over the national Recovery Plan, paving the way for Poland to finally obtain money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced. During his visit to …
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Czechia to set up new state energy trader for cheap supplies
The Czech Republic wants to establish a new “state energy trader” that would secure cheap energy supplies for the state and replace the private companies currently in charge of purchasing gas and other fuels. The trader would have the power to …
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Czechia wants Zelenskyy as guest at October EU leaders’ summit
Prague wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be a guest at the EU leaders’ summit in October 2022 it will organise as part of its EU Council presidency. The summit is likely to be held at the Prague Castle in early …
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Poland prepares for election season, reports of early elections
Poles are preparing for elections scheduled in 2023, but there are reports of a possible early vote due to tensions between the parties in the right-wing coalition. Next year, Poles will go to the polls twice to elect a new parliament …
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Ex-PM Fico says Slovakia should stop helping Ukraine
Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Roberto Fico called for an immediate halt to all aid to Ukraine in a TV debate on Sunday. “Ukrainians never helped us, Ukraine blatantly lied to us in 2009 when we needed gas, and the …
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Slovakia to develop geothermal energy to lower Russian energy dependency
Efforts to lower dependence on Russian energy is speeding up local geothermal projects in Slovakia that had been gaining traction before the invasion of Ukraine. The pilot project of a geothermal power plant in Central Slovak town Žiar nad Hronom recently …
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Czechia to offer refugees with Hungarian passports train ride to Budapest
Prague is offering refugees with Hungarian passports a free train ride to Hungary, and has asked Budapest to be quick in providing information on whether Ukrainian refugees in Czechia have dual citizenship with Hungary, the Czech News Agency reported. The matter …
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Czechia’s digital shortcomings could be fixed with EU recovery money
EU recovery funds may help Czechia fix its broadband connection costs and its lacking digitally qualified personnel. The Czech Republic will use around €1.6 billion of the €7.2 billion from the National Recovery Plan to develop e-government, e-commerce and digital transformation, …
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Poles ready for Russian shutdown of Yamal gas pipeline
The Polish government says it is ready to disconnect Poland from Russian gas, as no Russian gas has arrived since 27 April via the Yamal pipeline that runs through the country. As part of the counter-sanctions imposed on Western countries, the …
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Authorities withhold reason for giving away Hungarian highways for 35 years
The Hungarian National Concession Bureau will go to the Supreme Court (Kúria) to withhold the release of the calculations underlying a 35-year concession contract of the country’s motorways to a consortium linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Telex reported via Radio Free Europe. Despite …
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Czechia plans LNG imports from the Baltic Sea by train
Czech state fuel distributor Čepro is ready to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the country, so gas could be transported from the Baltic Sea by train. In the future, ship transport is also possible if the navigability of …
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Resentment for Ukrainian refugees grows in central and eastern Europe
The welcome citizens of Central and Eastern Europe first showed Ukrainian refugees is slowly waning, especially in more pro-Russian countries like Slovakia and Bulgaria, where refugee “privileges” are being criticised, and comparisons to the 2015 refugee crisis are now being …
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UK pledges to support Poland if it sends Ukraine fighter jets
Defence Minister Ben Wallace has promised that the UK will help Poland if it decides to deliver Soviet fighter jets to Ukraine, The Guardian reports. Poland was already preparing to transfer 28 MiG-29 jets familiar to Ukraine’s pilots in March via the …
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Czechia to tighten refugee rules due to Roma influx
*The featured image has been updated to better reflect the content of the article. The Czech Republic will tighten passport checks on refugees and only grant aid to those fleeing war that have crossed the Ukraine border, the interior ministry announced …
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Hungary runs out of capacity, no new solar power plants
Hungary has run out of available grid connection capacity to connect weather-dependent power plants, disappointing Hungarian solar power developers and investors. MAVIR, the transmission system operator, set the amount of weather-dependent generating capacity able to be accommodated in the electricity system …