Eastern European Countries and Austria | Bilateral Relations

Austria and Eastern European countries - Latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, diplomacy, culture and tourism

NBU Expects Lower Inflation

The inflation expectations of the heads of Ukrainian enterprises have been low for the third quarter in a row.

January 28, 2013

Slovakia: Producer Prices Declining Slightly

Prices in production area in December 2012 down by 0.4%.

January 28, 2013

54.9%: Zeman Wins

Milos Zeman will become the next President of the Czech Republic. His rival Karel Schwarzenberg has already recognized his defeat.

January 26, 2013

Erdogan to Visit Hungary

Turkey´s Prime Minister will come to Hungary in February.

January 26, 2013

Czech Republic: Zeman Ahead

Today, the run-off election in the Czech Republic has ended. According to first results, the socialist Zeman ranks first.

January 26, 2013

Lithuania to Join Eurozone in 2015

According to Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius, the country will introduce the euro in the medium term.

January 26, 2013

Hungary: Real Wages Declining Persistently

In the first eleven months of 2012, real wages of Hungarian workers was down by 3.5%.

January 26, 2013

Slovenia: Jansa Rejects to Step Down

Despite the deep political and economic crisis, Slovenia´s Prime Minister Janez Jansa is clinging to power.

January 25, 2013

Hungary: Retail Trade Shrinks Significantly

The volume of sales in retail trade decreased by 4.1% in November.

January 25, 2013

Slovakia: Foreign Trade Growing Strongly

In 2011, goods in the amount of € 56 783,2m were exported from the Slovak Republic. Compared with 2010, the total export increased by 17,6 %.

January 25, 2013

Poland Sells Shares in PKO

The share in the banking group decreases to 31.9%. Further privatizations are planned.

January 24, 2013

Treichl: „BCR Will be Positive this Year“

Erste Group´s CEO Andreas Treichl thinks that the Romanian subsidiary Banca Commerciala Romania will not record losses in 2013.

January 24, 2013 · Updated: January 24, 2013; 21:58

Slovakia: Public Debt Quota Exceeds 50% of GDP

For the first time since 2000, Slovakia´s public debt level exceeds the 50% threshold.

January 24, 2013

Poland: Unemployment Quota at 13.4%

The labor market situation is one of Poland´s most pressing issues. Compared to November 2012, the unemployment quota was up by 0.5 percentage points.

January 24, 2013

Slovak Unemployment Rate Grows Further

In December, the unemployment quota came at 14.45%. Compared to December 2011, this is an increase by 0.9 percentage points.

January 24, 2013

Poland Has Third-Biggest Current Account Deficit

EU27 current account surplus € 28.8 bn. € 39.3bn surplus for trade in services.

January 24, 2013

Slovenia: Government Collapses

Yesterday in the evening, the conservative coalition member CL has terminated the co-operation with Prime Minister Janez Jansa´s party SDS. Not only the political situation in Slovenia is precarious, but also the economic outlook is highly uncertain.

January 24, 2013

Business Cycle Survey: Czech Overall Confidence Decreases

Overall confidence in domestic economy decreased slightly in January. The composite confidence indicator (economic sentiment indicator) decreased by 0.3 points compared to December.

January 24, 2013

Romania Needs More Time for IMF-Requirements

The financially stricken country did not implement the planned privatizations. EBRD criticized Romania´s slow progress.

January 23, 2013

IMF: Growth in CESEE Region to Accelerate

In the next three years, economic growth rates in central, eastern and southeastern Europe will return to the pre-crisis level, IMF says.

January 23, 2013

Slovenia: Protests Against Austerity Cuts

Due to a general strike, Slovenia comes to a standstill. More than 100,000 public servants protest against social cuts.

January 23, 2013

Komorowski: Poland Should Join Eurozone in 2015

Poland´s President Bronislaw Komorowski said that the country should decide whether to introduce the euro in 2015.

January 23, 2013

Erste Group´s CEO Wants to Create CESEE Stock Exchange

Andreas Treichl, CEO of the Austrian banking group, would like to create an alliance between CEE Stock Exchange Group (CEESEG) and Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).

January 23, 2013

Estonia and Bulgaria Record Lowest Public Debt in EU

Third quarter of 2012 compared with second quarter of 2012: Euro area and EU27 government debt nearly stable at 90.0% and 85.1% of GDP respectively.

January 23, 2013

Czech Republic: Controversy About Benes Decrees

The second round of the Czech presidential elections is heating up. The candidate Karel Schwarzenberg was criticized harshly.

January 23, 2013

Croatia: Austerity Policy Faces Difficulties

Croatia´s Minister of Finance Slavko Linic thinks that the austerity policy cannot be continued.

January 22, 2013

Poland: Lower Growth Forecasts

The slowdown of the Polish economy continues. The government is becoming impatient.

January 22, 2013

Serbia: Inflation Grew Further

Last year, the Republic of Serbia has recorded an inflation rate of 12.1%.

January 22, 2013

Slovakia Continues Austerity Measures

Slovak Minister of Economics Tomas Malatinsky underlines that the country must improve its attractiveness for businesses.

January 22, 2013

Europe of Tomorrow: The New Way of Thinking

Distinguished participants from industry, politics and the business community such as Václav Klaus, Jerzy Buzek, Franz Fischler, Martin Meyer, Jan Zielonka, Iain Begg, Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein are currently dicussing this issue in Vienna.

January 22, 2013

Fico: „Privatizations Were Our Biggest Mistake“

Slovakia´s Prime Minister Robert Fico thinks that the austerity policy in Europe is the wrong way.

January 21, 2013

Nabucco: Decision Will Be Announced by Mid-2013

The Shah Deniz II consortium will announce its decision on the pipeline project in June, Nabucco´s CEO Reinhard Mitschek says.

January 21, 2013

CESEE Property Market Highly Heterogeneous

In Austria, the yield is expected to shrink further. However, the investments will be stable, CBRE Austria says. In the CESEE region, the situation is ambiguous.

January 21, 2013

Rostowski Calls for Further Interest Cuts

Polish minister of finance Jacek Rostowski wants NBP (Polish National Bank) to lower the base rate further.

January 21, 2013

Most Czechs Are Pessimistic

A clear majority of the Czech citizens expects that their individual financial situation will deteriorate this year.

January 21, 2013

Poland´s Rating Not Endangered

According to the U.S. rating agency Fitch, Poland´s “A-“ rating is “robust”.

January 21, 2013

Hungary: Production of Main crops Decreases Sharply in 2012

In 2012, 25% less cereals were produced on a 2% larger area than in the previous year.

January 21, 2013

Strong Political Support for Nabucco

Nabucco countries acknowledge the ministerial declaration extending legal and regulatory framework to Nabucco West.

January 19, 2013

Czech Republic: Both Presidential Candidates Want to Join Eurozone

Unlike the outgoing President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus, Milos Zeman and Karel Schwarzenberg are in favor of the euro.

January 19, 2013

Russian Rosatom May Build Nuclear Power Plant in Bohunice

Because of the completion of the Czech nuclear power plants, the Czech energy company CEZ is expected to withdraw from the construction project.

January 19, 2013

Serbia: Dinkic Underlines Importance of South Stream Pipeline

The South Stream pipeline is a “national project” and of vital interest for Serbia, Minister of Economics Mladjan Dinkic says.

January 19, 2013

Klaus Recommends to Vote not for Schwarzenberg

Czech President Vaclav Klaus will stay in office until March. Klaus does not want Karel Schwarzenberg to become his successor.

January 19, 2013 · Updated: January 19, 2013; 15:47

Poland: Credit Line Renewed

The IMF guarantees a credit line of € 26bn to the Polish government.

January 19, 2013

Czech Republic Decides to Enlarge Temelin Power Plant

Today, the Czech Ministry of Environment has approved the enlargement of the nuclear power plant in southern Bohemia.

January 18, 2013

IMF to Visit Serbia Again

The International Monetary Fund underlines that Serrbia must reduce its public debt. At the same time, the government must stimulate economic growth, IMF says.

January 18, 2013

Czech Republic: Czech Government Withstand Another Vote of Confidence

The stability of the Czech government is still doubtful. For the time being, the coalition can deal with the pressure from the opposition.

January 18, 2013

Hungary: Gross Earnings Grow Moderately.

Last year, gross earnings were up by 4.6%. As Hungary´s inflation rate comes at 5.7%, real earnings are still shrinking.

January 18, 2013

Serbia: Key Policy Rate Raised to 11.50 Percent

At its meeting today, the Executive Board of the National Bank of Serbia voted to raise the key policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 11.50 percent.

January 18, 2013

Hungary Wants Tax Treaty with Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Hungary tries to levy a lump sum tax on deposits of Hungarian nationals in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the UK and Cyprus.

January 17, 2013

Croatia: Dispute with Slovenia May Postpone EU Accession

In July, Croatia should become a member country of the EU. However, the legal dispute with Slovenia is still an obstacle. The neighbor country may cause a delay of Croatia´s accession.

January 17, 2013