Economy

With Germany at long last imposing a nation-wide wage floor, the country’s slowly conforming to the rest of Europe. Come the crisis and the erstwhile ‘Sick Man of Europe’ became the continent’s economic valedictorian. Extremely low (for European standards) unemployment rate cemented the make-believe caprice that it would work.

On the day after the internet tax protests it is hard to tell whether they mean real burning point for Fidesz government or Hungarian politics in general.

With a new scandal involving extensive corruption the country is alienating the countries of the West and as much as Prime Minister Orbán wants to follow Putin’s footsteps, the question is whether there would be any country left which would take Hungary seriously?

Estonia is about to undergo a work capacity reform which will establish a new system to support capacity for work. The aim of the changes is to shift the attitude towards people with reduced work capacity and help them find and keep jobs.

Recent pre-election debates in Bulgarian media have left many people with the impression that the flat income tax is probably the most important “problem” to be solved by the new government.

Ukraine is now in a completely new environment – military operations in the east and military invasion and aggression of the Russian Federation have left a significant mark on the processes taking place in the country, including the reform of the business environment.

The survey showed that 42.3% of managers reported no change when comparing the financial situation of their company now and a year ago, 8% indicated that the situation improved, 40.7% of respondents answered that the situation has worsened, and 9% failed to answer the question.

While EU and US sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine, and Russia’s counter-sanctions, are much discussed due to their evident political significance, less attention has been given to Russia’s punitive sanctions against the three Eastern European states–Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia – that have signed with the EU Association Agreements (AA), which include Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) provisions.

Machine building sector in Ukraine is facing a difficult situation. Recent research showed that machine building is most heavily exposed to the Russian market in terms of the percentage of output exported to Russia.

Politicians are widely known for their “flexible spines”, but, as elections approach, that softness reaches a jelly-like state.