East European Countries

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin scolded top officials after the economy shrank by 1.8% during the first two months of the year. He asked them to 'come up with new measures that will boost the economic growth. The tight monetary policies of the central bank and Western sanctions that target the oil revenues of the country are the main reasons for the slowdown in Russian growth. The International Monetary Fund has raised its estimate of Russia's GDP growth in 2026 from 0.8% to 1.1% after the Middle East crisis spiked oil prices in March. The government has forecast growth...

Russian news agencies reported that Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, said on Wednesday in Beijing at a press conference that Russia was'ready to increase its energy supply to China before an expected visit by President Vladimir 'Putin. Vedomosti cited sources who said that it would be during the week of May 18th. President Xi Jinping and Lavrov met on 'Wednesday', assuring Moscow that China is a friend of Russia and saying that China and 'Russia' must work together, trust each other and protect each other's interest. Lavrov said at the press conference that Russia is ready to provide...

The Trump administration has extended the waiver that allows Lukoil service stations to operate outside of Russia until late October. This is a small exception to sanctions imposed by the U.S. last year in order to reduce revenues supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Treasury Department announced on its website on Tuesday that the waiver for 2,000 stations in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as the Americas, has been extended to October 29. In October, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft - Russia's largest oil companies - causing interest among potential buyers for the...

The Kremlin stated on Tuesday it was pleased that Peter Magyar, the Hungarian prime minister-elect, seemed "ready for a pragmatic dialogue with Russia" and would base its position on specific actions taken by his government Russian hardliners mourned Viktor Orban's defeat, a close ally of Moscow, who lost an election over the weekend to a centre-right upstart rival Magyar. The Kremlin said that it was "ready" to talk with the new government. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters: "For the moment, we can note with satisfaction his (Magyar) willingness to engage in pragmatic dialogue." "In this instance, there is a?mutual?willingness...

Holders of bonds issued by Ukraine's Naftogaz, the state energy giant, have hired lawyers to prepare for what appears to be a second debt restructuring since Russia's invasion in 2022. Source familiar with the matter confirmed that the funds hired Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton - the same firm which represented VR Capital and bondholders when Naftogaz wrote off its debt in?2023. In the face of ongoing Russian attacks, the Ukrainian state energy company, which has recently hired Rothschild to be its debt advisor, is struggling with how to pay a repayment of nearly 700 million euros ($821million) due in...

Leaked recordings purportedly showed Hungary's Foreign Minister offering to send his Russian counterpart an?document on Ukraine's European Union membership, as the latest sign of Budapest's warm relationship with Moscow. The audio 'clips' released by a group of investigative news - outlets, including VSquare.org, were the latest of a series leaked conversations purporting to show that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary has been working to serve Russian interests while undermining EU efforts to help Ukraine. Orban, who has ordered an investigation after Orban's previous statement that wiretapping his calls was "a huge scandal", was unable independently to verify the authenticity....

Hungary's headline inflation in March rose by 1.8% from a year ago, but was below expectations. Government measures to curb fuel price increases due to the Iran war appear to have had their desired effect. The market had predicted a 2.2% rise. Analysts had predicted an average annual core inflation rate of 2.3%. Poland and the Czech Republic both had similar results, where price increases accelerated but were below analyst expectations. The soaring energy prices caused by the?Iran war are a major concern for central bankers in the region, and have led to a halt in monetary easing measures being...

JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, slammed the European Union on Tuesday for its "disgraceful interference" in an election held in?Hungary. He also praised Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his role as an ally to Donald?Trump when it comes to the defence of Western civilization. Here are some key quotes from the joint press conference in Budapest. VANCE ON HUNGARIAN ELSECTION "What happened in this country and what happened during this election campaign is one of worst examples of foreign interference in elections that I have ever read or seen ..." "The bureaucrats at Brussels have tried to destroy Hungary's...

The 'Iran War' sent fuel prices soaring in March, but the headline figure was still below?predictions and the 2% central bank target. According to preliminary data released by the statistics office on Tuesday, the?headline?figure increased 1.9% from a previous year in March, which is faster than February's 1.4%. According to a poll, analysts had predicted 2.0%. The data revealed that consumer prices increased 0.6% month-over-month, with a rise of 5.3% in energy prices, including motor fuels. After?the government took steps to reduce energy bills, the global oil price shock came at a time of low inflation in the Czech Republic....

Analysts at A95 Consulting Group reported late Monday that Ukraine's imports of diesel jumped 27% in March over February to a five-year-high of 577,000 tons, despite the difficulties associated with the war? in the Persian Gulf. After Russian missile attacks virtually destroyed Ukraine's refining capability, the country became?entirely reliant on imported fuel. It sourced supplies elsewhere in Europe. The consultancy stated in a report that "Importers operations in March were hindered by the effects of the war in the Middle East which made it extremely difficult to secure supplies." The report also stated that ORLEN, Poland's largest supplier, had suspended...

Orlen, the Polish state-owned refiner, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a preliminary agreement with Grupa Azoty (the Polish state-controlled chemical group) under which it would acquire 'all remaining shares in Grupa azoty polyolefins. The transaction involves the purchase of GAP shares and the provision of financing by Orlen to complete GAP’s restructuring. It has a value of $1.35 billion ($364.23 millions). The transaction was in line with expectations. Orlen had been viewed as the "natural candidate" to take over the Polyolefins Project and stabilize it. Erste Group analyst Cezary Bernatek wrote in a client note. He added, "We'd...

Rosneft said that the company's net income for 2025 will be down 73%, to $293 billion ($3.60 billion), due to high interest, a high tax on profits, and other factors. Igor Sechin is the Rosneft CEO and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. He said that the Russian oil industry was caught in an "ideal storm" last year, which included negative geopolitical conditions, tight domestic macroeconomic conditions, as well as high interest rates. The United States sanctioned Rosneft, Russia's second largest oil producer Lukoil in October last year. Sechin stated that the Middle East conflict has boosted oil prices...

The?Russian state nuclear corporation, whose?boss spoke on 'Tuesday' after the Hungarian 'Prime Minister elect Peter Magyar claimed that the price was too high, is prepared to defend its 'price tag' for a project to expand Hungary’s only?nuclear facility. The project, worth 12.5 billion euros ($14.75billion), was awarded without competition to Rosatom of Russia. It has been seen as a symbol for the close relationship between President Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban who is leaving office after losing a weekend election to Magyar. Magyar stated on Monday that Hungary will review the situation and may even cancel the expansion if it...

The government of Poland announced on Thursday that it had foiled a cyberattack against its nuclear research centre. It is now examining possible signs that Iran may be responsible. Poland claims it has been the victim of many cyberattacks ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale in 2022. Moscow has denied any involvement. Krzysztof GAWKOWSKI, Minister of Digital Affairs at TVN24+, said that the attack against Poland's National Center for Nuclear Research had taken place "in recent days". "The attack was not on a large scale, but it was an attempt at breaking through security that was stopped....

Ursula Von der Leyen,?EU?chief, said that reducing?Europe's nuclear sector was a'strategic error'. This came as the governments struggled to cope with a severe energy shortage caused by the Iran War. The EU Commission President told a Paris event that Europe used nuclear energy to produce around a third in 1990. That number has now dropped to 15%. This leaves Europe reliant upon oil and gas imports, whose prices have risen in recent weeks. Von der Leyen said that Europe was at a disadvantage compared to other regions because it is "completely dependent on expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports". "This...

In a report published?Friday by the central bank of Poland, the inflation rate is expected to stay within the target range until the end of 2028. However, the data used in the report predated the beginning of the Middle East conflict. In 'its 'March forecasts, the National?Bank Polska projected that inflation would reach 2.3% this yeaar, 2.4% in the year 2027, and 2.3% in the year 2028. This is around the middle of central bank target of 1.5%-3.5%. The report stated that growth will be slightly slower this year at 3.9%, down from 4.0% by 2025. Since the weekend, the...

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...