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Catch up quickly with the stories from Central and Eastern Europe that matter, this week led by news of Ukraine’s ongoing overtures to both Republicans and Democrats ahead of the US presidential election.
Russia’s war on Ukraine
Ukraine will continue to reach out to Republicans and Democrats and avoid being sucked into US internal politics and a bruising probable contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, officials in Kyiv indicated this week.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, paid a warm tribute to the departing Joe Biden on Sunday, thanking him for his “unwavering support”. He praised the US president’s “bold steps” taken in response to “challenging times” and Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“He supported our country during the most dramatic moment in history, assisted us in preventing Putin from occupying our country, and has continued to support us throughout this terrible war,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
He said he “sincerely hoped America’s continued strong leadership will prevent Russian evil from succeeding or making its aggression pay off”.
Zelensky’s administration has taken pains to pursue an even-handed approach to unpredictable and fast-moving events in Washington. Its top priority is to avoid being dragged into a US domestic political row, which could ultimately weaken its fight against Moscow.
The EU this week stripped Hungary of its right to host an important ministerial summit following prime minister Viktor Orbán’s “peace mission” trips to Moscow and Beijing that triggered a backlash from the bloc for undermining their support of Ukraine.
Hungary, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was set to host the gathering, known as Gymnich, in late August.
The informal meeting of foreign and defence ministers will now be held in the EU capital of Brussels in September, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.
“We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal,” he said.
Borrell said while condemnation of Hungary’s recent behaviour was widespread, EU member states were divided between those who wanted to attend the meeting in Budapest and those who did not.
Hungary denounced the EU decision as “childish”.
On Tuesday meanwhile, Hungary said that it will block European Union refunds for member states that gave munitions to Ukraine until Kyiv allows the transit of oil from Russia’s Lukoil through a pipeline over its territory.
Slovakia and Hungary said earlier this month that they had stopped receiving oil from Lukoil through the Druzhba pipeline after Ukraine imposed a ban last month on the transit of resources from Lukoil.
Also in response to the situation on Tuesday, Hungary’s energy ministry convened a working group concerning the security of supply, which “reviewed the steps taken so far and possible next steps,” a statement by the ministry read.
“As long as this issue is not resolved by Ukraine, everyone should forget about the payment of the 6.5 billion euros of the European Peace Facility (EPF) compensation for arms transfers,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was quoted as saying by broadcaster ATV.
Other news from the region
Estonia’s incoming government will support Ukraine until “victory” in its war with Russia, Prime Minister Kirsten Michal told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday, pledging continuity on the issue with the former administration. Michal, 49, has replaced Kaja Kallas, who recently resigned to become the European Union’s foreign policy chief after emerging as one of the strongest critics of Russia and supporters of Ukraine in the European Union and NATO. “We will support Ukraine until the victory of Ukraine in this war. We are in this for a long term, I hope our allies are too,” Michal said after taking the oath of office.
Nearly three dozen opposition lawmakers in Georgia said on Monday that they have taken steps to challenge the recently passed controversial law on “foreign agents” that has jeopardised the country’s aspirations to join the EU. The opposition lawmakers said they signed a lawsuit to challenge the legislation, a necessary step before it can be submitted to the Constitutional Court. The “foreign agent” law, analogous to one passed a decade ago in Russia, was pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party and adopted in May-June despite a presidential veto and weeks of protests.
On Wednesday meanwhile, Georgia’s state intelligence agency announced the opening of an investigation into a plot to “violently overthrow” the government. In a statement posted on Facebook, the State Security Service of Georgia said it is “investigating criminal activities” aimed at creating unrest, including a plot to kill Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the governing Georgian Dream party. The statement accused “former high officials” of being behind the plot, with local media reports suggesting links to Ukraine.
European Union member countries continue to tolerate the rampant evasion of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, making it harder for front-line states to enforce the measures, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže told Politico this week. “There’s a serious problem on how EU countries are actually implementing sanctions and exporting stuff both to Russia and to Belarus,” Braže said in an interview. Braže, a former NATO assistant secretary general, cited the example of trucks and tractors that could be militarily useful, as well as tech that could be used in Russian military satellites.
The Czech semi-state energy group CEZ has opened talks with the South Korean company KHNP over the construction of two nuclear units at the Dukovany power station, with a final agreement expected to be signed by the end of March 2025, CEZ spokesman Ladislav Kriz told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the Czech government decided to award a contract to build two new nuclear units at the Dukovany power station to KHNP, giving it preference over France’s EDF, in what was the largest tender in the history of the Czech state.
Hungary-based Lead Ventures this week announced the launch of its new 100 million euros fund targeting start-ups in Central and Eastern Europe. The VC targets late seed and Series A companies whose products and services have already been validated on the market and require substantial capital to drive their next phase of growth. The fund will offer investments ranging from two million euros to 10 million euros providing a crucial boost to companies in strengthening their product-market fit and expanding to new markets.
Stellantis, whose stable includes Opel, Fiat, and Citroen, is ready to “fight” for its place in Europe’s electric vehicle market against strong competition from Chinese carmakers, its CEO Carlos Tavares said on Monday, as the group presented its new EV production line in Serbia. Serbia, which is pushing to become a key European supplier of more sustainable row materials, batteries and electric vehicles, signed a 190 million euros deal with Stellantis in 2022 for the production of an electric vehicle at its car manufacturing plant in Kragujevac. The plant is seen as a generator of growth for the entire region.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF on Tuesday urged Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities to raise the measles vaccination rate among children after two adolescents died in an outbreak of the highly infectious respiratory illness. Bosnia has the highest number of measles infections in the Balkans, with more than 7,000 estimated cases recorded since the first outbreak last December. Neighbouring Montenegro, in comparison, has only eight cases. Additionally, the national immunisation rate for measles in Bosnia is only 55 per cent, compared with 90 per cent in neighbouring Croatia.
Photo: The White House official Facebook page.
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