After a hiatus of more than two years, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary met in Gödöllő (Hungary) on 23 June 2026 for a Visegrád Group summit. The resumption of high-level meetings is itself symbolically significant, as it marks the end of a period of political freeze in cooperation resulting from differences over policy towards...
More →
In 2026, liquid fuel tourism in Slovakia became one of the key manifestations of mounting tensions in the regional liquid fuel market, stemming from disruption on the crude oil supply side. Relatively low diesel prices – maintained despite the suspension of crude oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, and the conflict in the Middle East – created strong demand-side...
More →
The U.S.–Israeli strike on Iran has forced Central European states to take clear positions. The prime minister of Slovakia used the occasion to criticize the European Union, while the Hungarian head of government incorporated the potential negative consequences of the intervention into his election campaign and Hunagry’s relations with Ukraine. The Czech Republic, in turn,...
More →
The Druzhba pipeline constitutes a critical component of Central Europe’s energy infrastructure, supplying Russian crude oil to refineries in Slovakia and Hungary. Following the suspension of deliveries through the southern branch on 27 January 2026, both countries found themselves facing a serious threat to energy security, as they remain among the last EU member states still...
More →
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted an unprecedented and multidimensional response from European Union member states, particularly in the field of energy policy. As part of efforts to reduce dependence on energy supplies from the Russian Federation, the European Commission announced the REPowerEU strategy, which sets out the goal of completely phasing out...
More →
In June 2024, the Ukrainian authorities expanded their list of sanctioned entities to include Lukoil, which supplies crude oil to MOL Group refineries. This led to the suspension of crude oil supplies in mid-July 2024 to the Bratislava (Slovakia) and Százhalombatta (Hungary) plants. Both plants, thanks to the derogations they received in 2022 for sanctions imposed by the European...
More →
After the pandemic-related loosening of fiscal rules – in the new framework following the reform – the EU’s excessive deficit procedure is returning. On 26 July 2024, the Council of the European Union decided to initiate it against seven member states, including three from Central Europe: Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. This is the result of failing to meet the deficit...
More →
The Russian-Ukrainian war has initiated a strategic shift in Slovakia, moving away from the reliance on natural gas supplies from the Russian Federation. In this new geopolitical context, Slovakia’s challenge lies in securing alternative sources of this commodity, rather than in developing infrastructure, which has already been established over the years and currently...
More →
The Spring 2023 economic forecasts published by the European Commission indicate that, despite a gradual improvement in the stability of the public finance sector, many Central European countries will continue to experience budget deficits exceeding 3% of GDP. The largest budget deficits will be observed in Slovakia and Poland. Despite these challenges, both economies will...
More →
Survey research from July 2022. “How are you Slovakia?”, conducted by researchers from the research agencies MNFORCE, Seesame and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, shows that the majority of Slovaks support a victory for Russia rather than Ukraine in the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, an earlier survey, conducted by the think tank Globsec, shows...
More →
