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The Regions This Week
April 13, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
Central Europe
Czech lobbyist Marek Dalik, a backroom fixer close to former rightwing premier Mirek Topo- lanek, was freed from prison by the Supreme Court. Dalik was sentenced in February 2016 to five years in prison for demanding a €18mn bribe in November 2007 from Austrian arms company Steyr in return for a CZK14bn contact to purchase Pandur armoured personnel carriers.
Czech unemployment dropped 0.3pp m/m to 4.8% in March, data released by the labour ministry showed. On an annual basis, joblessness fell 1.3pp.
Czech inflation was strong again in March, rising 0.1pp to 2.6% y/y, statistics office CZSO reported. The CPI was flat on a monthly basis, following gains of 0.8% in January and 0.4% in February.
Slovak gas transmission system operator Eus- tream announced that it had signed a new con- tract with Gazprom on carrying Russian gas. The deal between Gazprom Export and Eustream is reportedly worth €5.3bn and runs until 2050.
Slovak industry saw its recent recovery fizzle out in February, as output slowed to 2.6% y/y, the statistics office reported.
Slovak courts are viewed as the least independ- ent in the EU, according a report released by the European Commission. According to the latest EU Justice Scoreboard, the Slovak public has the low- est level of trust in the independence of courts in the EU.
Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on Slovakia's rating to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’, as it af- firmed the 'A2' issuer and senior unsecured ratings.
Real estate investment vehicle Griffin RE has secured a buy-in from the European Bank of Re- construction and Development, the international institution announced on April 12, one day ahead of the company's debut on the Warsaw Stock Ex- change. The EBRD bought a 9.48% stake in Grif-
fin for PLN84.4mn (€19.9mn) as an institutional investor taking part in the real estate company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the WSE.
The EU warned Hungary that it may face legal action over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s un- dermining of democracy and the rule of law. The EU’s left-liberal wing has long been critical of Orban, but the recent effort to push Central Euro- pean University out of Hungary has brought con- demnation from members of his own conservative bloc, the European Peoples Party.
Polish core inflation gained 0.6% y/y in March,
the National Bank of Poland announced. The reading is 0.1pp above market expectations and 0.3pp higher compared to February. The headline CPI reading dropped to 2% in March, suggesting the recent inflation surge is weakening, and sup- porting doves at the National Bank of Poland.
Poland should build a 1,200 MW nuclear power plant unit by 2030, Poland’s energy minister told local media. Poland needs to lower emissions from its mostly coal-fired power generation fleet and a nuclear power facility is the most efficient way to do this, said Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski.
The Lithuanian unemployment rate dropped to 8.3% in March, a reduction of 0.6pp on the year, data from Lithuanian Statistics showed. Meanwhile, the number of vacancies fell marginally to 29,800.
Latvia’s current account showed a surplus of nearly €207mn in February, representing growth of over 80% compared with the previous month, according to data released by the Bank of Latvia.
Latvia's consumer price index (CPI) climbed 3.4% y/y in March, data released by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) showed. The reading sees price growth accelerate 0.1pp compared to February and marks the ninth successive month of positive inflation. In monthly terms, prices grew 0.9%, 0.5pp faster than in the previous month.