East European Countries

MOSCOW, February 26 - The Kremlin said on Thursday that a sharp drop in revenue from energy sales and a growing budget deficit were "routine problems" which could be resolved thanks to macroeconomic stability. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, commented on the meeting that President Vladimir Putin had with top government officials to discuss budget this week. Peskov stated that Putin closely followed 'economic developments' during the meeting that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed took place on Tuesday night late at night. "There is a real decline in oil and gas revenues. The growth of non-oil revenue partially offsets this decline....

Iraq's Oil Minister said that Chevron is in exclusive talks with Lukoil to take over the West Qurna 2 oilfield. Iraq is seeking to increase its oil and gas production. Oil majors are competing to expand their operations, after years of political insecurity. Hayan Abdel-Ghani, the Oil Minister of Iraq, told Kurdish TV Rudaw in an interview that production could increase to 750,000-800,000. bpd once Chevron took over operations. The U.S. The?U.S. Iraq, which is the second largest oil producer in the OPEC+ Group, comprising Organization?of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, has plans to increase the...

Orlen, a Polish energy group, reported adjusted core earnings higher than expected on Thursday. This was helped by a stronger downstream result which overshadowed the?net profit miss caused?by asset impairments as well as lower oil and natural gas prices. The shares rose 2.2% as of 0849 GMT. This boosted Poland's blue chip index WIG20 which rose by 0.5%. Analyst Tamas Pelser at?Erste Group said that the 4Q25 period was a positive one for the Polish energy giant, highlighting "the very strong contribution" of refining in a margin-friendly environment. Orlen's model refinement?margin increased in the fourth quarter, as sanctions and Ukrainian...

The Russian central bank announced on Thursday that the country's 'current account surplus' had fallen by '34%' to $41.4 billion in '2025, from $62.6 billion last year. This was due to the Western sanctions as well as the lower oil price, which is the main source of income for the country. Exports fell while imports were relatively stable. The current account of a country is the difference between all money that comes in from trade, investments and transfers and what goes out. As a cause of the decline, the central?bank cited a growing deficit in services caused by an?increased importation...

According to correspondence seen by, the management of a Russian owned oil refinery located in Germany privately warned Berlin that U.S. Sanctions were hurting their business and threatened fuel supplies for the capital and region. In a letter sent to Katherina Reiche in January, the management of Rosneft's PCK Schwedt refinery made an "urgent" appeal to her to resolve the standoff between the United States and the refinery. The letter details the escalating issues at the refinery which supplies fuel to Brandenburg, eastern Germany, and nine out of ten cars in Berlin. It also supplies key chemicals and ingredients for...

Even though oil prices rose 15% in January on the back of fears that a new U.S. attack on Iran was imminent, they remain in a narrow range. A well-supplied oil market makes it unlikely that either side will be able to push prices higher. It would take a massive, sustained action to make a significant impact on the global supply-demand imbalance. Brent crude futures are at their highest level since July?last year. This puts the global benchmark in line for its largest monthly gain since January 20,22, when Russian troops were preparing to enter Ukraine. A series of major...

The Finance Ministry announced on Monday that Russia had a budgetary deficit of 5.6 trillion roubles, or 2.6% of GDP, by 2025. This is the largest deficit in terms of percentage of GDP since 2020 and in roubles since 2006. In 2024, Russia's fiscal deficit was equal to 1.7% of its GDP. The?government increased the deficit target in 2025 from the initial?1.2 trillion Rubbles or 0.5% GDP due to the shrinking energy revenue and a strong Rouble. Budget revenues were 37.28 trillion rubles, down 7.5% on the original target. This was due to the 24% drop in oil and gas...

Italy announced on Monday that Venezuela had released Italian citizens Alberto Trentini?and Mario Burlo?from prison. It also pledged to "upgrade its relations with Caracas" in response. After Venezuela released two Italian citizens, Biagio Piieri, a journalist, and Luigi Gasperin a businessman, last week, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that no other citizens with only Italian nationality were still in prison. Hundreds of dual nationals, both Italian and Venezuelans, are still being held. Venezuelan leadership announced on January 8, that it would release a large number of prisoners including foreigners, as a gesture. After the U.S. captured Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro,...

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a senior legislator said at the weekend that "U.S. The actions of President Donald Trump in Venezuela are illegal and destabilising. However, they can be portrayed as an assertion of U.S. interest. Comments follow Trump's ?statement The United States has struck Venezuela, and Maduro and Maduro's wife have been captured and removed from the country. This prompted international reactions and calls for urgent UN discussion. Medvedev said to TASS that Trump's behavior was not only illegal, but also internally coherent as it served U.S. interest. "It is important to acknowledge...

As part of its efforts to increase pressure on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, Britain imposed sanctions Thursday on additional Russian oil companies and Canadian-Pakistani Murtaza Lakhaani. The government has targeted 24 individuals, entities and companies, including what they describe as Russia's biggest remaining un-sanctioned oil firms: Tatneft, Russneft, NNK-Oil, and Rusneftegaz. The latest measures aim to make it more difficult for Russia to sell its oil globally. In October, Britain sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia's largest oil companies. On Thursday, the EU sanctioned?41 ships of Russia's?shadow fleet? that tries to circumvent Western trading restrictions. Russia dismissed...

The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Russia is interested in attracting more foreign investment. This comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. peace plan in Ukraine included proposals to invest in Russian rare Earths and energy. The Journal reported that the plans, which were detailed in the appendices of peace proposals drafted by U.S. president Donald Trump's administration and given to European counterparts during recent weeks, included proposals to restore Russian supplies to Europe. The Journal reported that U.S. firms would also invest in Russian strategic areas such as rare earth extraction and oil drilling in the...

Three sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that MOL, a Hungarian oil company, has informed U.S. officials of its interest in purchasing international assets from sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil. This adds to a growing number of potential buyers. In October, the United States imposed sanctions against Russia's largest private oil producer as part of its efforts to press Moscow to end their war in Ukraine. This forced Lukoil into announcing the sale of foreign assets. Sources have confirmed that Lukoil has been in talks with oil majors Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Middle Eastern investors before the December...

Alexei Likhachev, the chief of Rosatom, said that the U.S. and Israeli air attack on Iran has halted the construction of new 'units' of Iran's nuclear 'power plant' in the 'port city' of Bushehr. Likhachev warned earlier of the danger posed by'strikes near Iranian nucleus facilities. He said that explosions were heard 'just a few kilometres from the facility, even though the facility was not being targeted. He told journalists that the work has stopped on the sites of the second &?third units. He said that it was difficult to predict what would happen next, due to the military operations...

A local ceasefire was declared near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Ukraine on Friday, to allow repairs of an external power line. The plant is the largest in Europe. Under Russian Control Since shortly after the beginning of the war, in 2022. The plant does not produce electricity and relies on outside power to maintain its nuclear material cool in order to avoid a catastrophic incident. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other frequently of putting the safety of the plant at risk by staging attacks near it. Last year, a similar 'local truce' was established when the power...

The central bank of Romania held its benchmark interest rate steady at 6.50% on Tuesday as expected, despite the temporary impact from higher taxes and electricity prices. Inflation is expected to reach the target level in the first half 2027. All the analysts surveyed by expected that rates would remain unchanged. Wednesday, the bank will announce its new inflation forecasts. The bank targets an inflation rate of 1.5%-3.5%. Last August, the broad coalition government increased value-added taxes and excise duty to reduce the largest budget deficit in Europe. Inflation reached double digits in July due to the hikes and the...

The companies confirmed that Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear power company, has released Siemens Energy from its contract to?help build Paks II in Hungary. This confirms an earlier report on the news website Politico. Rosatom informed?that it had terminated the contract with the firm?at the?end of 2025 because its?inability? to meet its contractual obligations. Siemens Energy stated that there were no sanctions in place at the time of termination, and that it fulfilled its contractual obligations in compliance with all national and international laws. It said that "at the time when the fulfillment would have made sense, the customer had...

Romania's 460 MW modular small nuclear reactor plant is expected to?cost $7 billion, and it will be difficult to devise a financing plan for such an investment? said Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Friday. Nuclearelectrica, a state-owned producer of nuclear power in Romania, announced on Thursday that it had made a decision to invest in a small modular reactor plant (SMR) in Doicesti. This could be the first project in Europe using this technology. The project would build six reactors in a staggered manner beyond 2030, using technology from the U.S. company NuScale Power. Nuclearelectrica holds a 50% share...

Nuclearelectrica, a state-owned Romanian nuclear power company, announced on Thursday that it had made a decision to invest in a small modular plant. This could be the first project in Europe using this technology. The project in central Romania, Doicesti, is to have six reactors with a capacity total of 460MW. It will be using technology from the U.S. NuScale Power. Romanian Nuclearelectrica holds a 50% stake in the joint-venture. The first reactor is the final investment decision, and the other five are dependent on the success of the technology. The original deadline of 2029 for the finalization of the...

Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Energy in Ukraine, said that senior Ukrainian officials agreed on Wednesday to increase air defence capabilities around the capital Kyiv. This is to counter any possible future Russian air attacks against energy infrastructure. The 'fresh' preparations follow the attacks in Kyiv, where officials are scrambling to repair damages to heating and electricity networks that has left thousands of people in darkness and cold. "Most information will not be made public." In the context of?potential further Russian attacks?, we discussed strengthening Kyiv?s active air defense, especially for?energy facilities?, Shmyhal wrote after a military staff meeting on Telegram....

Hungarian Foreign Ministry Peter 'Szijjarto' said that the first concrete pour at Hungary’s Russian-built nuclear plant Paks 2 was on Thursday. This officially made it a.nuclear facility under construction. Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company, will build two new reactors under an agreement signed in 2014 between Budapest and Moscow. Hungary wants to expand Paks by adding two Russian VVER reactors. Each VVER has a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. The 12.5 billion Euro project, which was awarded to Rosatom without a tender, is often cited as proof of the warm relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and?Hungarian Premier Viktor...

In a letter sent to EU institutions and peers on Monday, Czech PM Andrej Babis urged them to support the European Union's carbon emission trading scheme in order to reduce energy prices. Babis wrote in a letter to the European Commission, the European Council and the other 26 members states that the EU should limit the price of?emissions?allowances and delay its second phase. Babis told a press conference that he would seek support from other EU leaders including France and Italy ahead of the bloc’s informal summit on February 12th. He said that allowance prices were forecast to be much...

Analyst ExPro reported on Monday that Ukraine's imports of electricity jumped by 40% between December 2025 and January 2026, to a new record?894 Gigawatt Hours. This was due to the constant Russian attacks against Ukraine's energy system. This is the highest amount of imports during the full-scale war. Hungary still accounts for the biggest share, 45%. The consultancy reported that overall, the supply increased in all directions except Moldova. Russia's attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector have intensified in recent months. Power stations, energy distribution systems, and gas sector installations are all being targeted. consecutive attacks On the generating and thermo...

Alexei Likhachev was quoted as saying that Russia would be prepared to evacuate staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant if needed. Last year, President Vladimir Putin stated that hundreds of Russians worked at the facility. It is Iran's sole operating nuclear power station, which Moscow built for Iran. Russia is currently building more nuclear facilities at Bushehr. Bushehr was not targeted by the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities last June. Likhachev warned that an attack could cause a catastrophe comparable to 1986's Chernobyl. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, urged Iran on Wednesday to make a deal with the United...

On?Friday, the United States and Slovakia signed an agreement to further cooperation in the country's nuclear energy program. They said that this would reduce Slovakia's reliance on Russian designed reactors. The agreement calls for the construction of a 1,200 megawatt state-owned nuclear unit, designed in the U.S. Since?last year, Slovakia has been in talks with Washington to build a large nuclear plant with Westinghouse, a nuclear developer. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at an event held at the headquarters of the agency in Washington, "Today's Civil Nuclear Agreement reflects our shared dedication to strengthening European energy sovereignty and security for...