Andrej Babis

EU Recovery Plan Splits CEE, Raises Absorption Capacity Questions

Leaders of the four are due to discuss the issue at a meeting on June 11. But experts and officials are sceptical they will bridge their differences.

"We don't expect to see a strong unified front as we did during the migrant crisis," said Vit Havelka, an analyst at the Prague-based Europeum think tank.

Greek PM seeks ‘safe corridor’ for tourism with seven countries

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday has proposed the creation of a "safe corridor" that will allow travel between countries which have successfully contained their coronavirus outbreaks in a bid to revive tourism, which came grinding to a halt in March following widespread lockdowns and travel bans.

Democracy Digest: Red Flags and Respirators

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Live: Coronavirus Updates

Budapest to Belgrade: All Aboard the Secret Express

Czechs Fear Autocratic Contagion

Analysts say such displays hint at a geopolitical realignment taking place in parts of Central and Southeast Europe as the pandemic prompts some governments to pivot away from Brussels and towards more authoritarian allies to the east.

Social Democracy: What’s Left in Central Europe?

SMER-SD gave way to a four-party, mostly right-wing coalition led by populist Ivo Matovic's OLANO, which more than doubled its vote from 11 per cent to 25 per cent — well ahead of SMER-SD's 18 per cent — with a vague programme almost entirely devoted to dismantling what Matovic claims is a system of corruption built by former premier Robert Fico. 

Populists Shrug Off Protests in Central and Southeast Europe

As in countries across the world, pro-democracy grassroots movements had little success in stopping assaults on independent institutions, the report found.

"While protest movements in every region have illustrated widespread popular demand for better governance, they have yet to reverse the overall pattern of declining freedom," Freedom House said in a statement.

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