influence

Labubus, with their naughty smiles, have stolen their way into most homes with kids, but their colorful furs hold a sinister secret. They are the newest presentation of a Chinese soft power takeover. With the US clogging up its channels of influence, we had better prepare for a wave of Chinafication. Soft power is marked by the promotion of positive values.

For a long time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of representing Russian interests in the EU. In his 2014 speech about the transformation of Hungary into an illiberal democracy, he depicted the Russian social and state model as a good example for the country.

Recent evaluation by Slovak security apparatus pointed at the risk posed by Chinese entities trying to gain access to certain crucial sectors in Slovakia. When looking at countries such as Czechia, the UK, or Australia, it is clearly visible that universities are a point of interest for Chinese entities.

The European Commission has approved of a very important merger - between a powerful Chinese ally and Czech billionaire, Petr Kellner and the influential media group, Central European Media Enterprises. This could result in manipulation of public opinion in favor of China all over the CEE region.

By most standards, Austria’s democratic credentials are sufficient to warrant a position at the top of rankings. Regardless of whether you take Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), or Freedom House’s landmark report on Freedom in the World, Austria fares well.

Žilvinas Šilėnas tops the list of Lithuania’s most influential opinion leaders, a market research company “Kantar TNS” announces. Reaching the audience of 37 million in the first half of 2017, Šilėnas has forged ahead the incumbent representatives of the banking sector.

In Ukraine, the main channel of the impact of remittances on GDP is consumption. The scope of impact depends on two factors - the marginal propensity to save and the propensity to purchase imported goods and services.