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The Regions This Week
November 30, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 7
Central Europe
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his gov- ernment survived a no-confidence vote in parlia- ment, with 92 votes for, 90 against and 18 absten- tions. The vote was called following the revelation that the prime minister’s son Andrej Babis junior claims his father kidnapped him and held him captive in the Crimea to prevent him from testify- ing in the Stork’s Nest corruption case.
State-owned electricity company MVM opened Hungary's biggest solar farm in the northeast of the country, following a HUF9bn (€28mn) invest- ment in its first renewable energy project. The facility, lying on a 45-hectare area with a built-in 20MW capacity, has annual production capacity of 21Gwh.
Aldis Gobzems, the leader of Latvia’s populist KPV party, began piecing together a government coalition after President Raimonds Vejonis desig- nated him as possibly the next prime minister of the Baltic state. Gobzems is the second PM-des- ignate after a government formation mission of Janis Bordans, the leader of the New Conserva- tive Party (JKP), failed.
The former head of Poland’s financial market regulator Marek Chrzanowski was placed under arrest for two months in connection to a bribery case. Chrzanowski is facing up to 10 years impris- onment following accusations made by billionaire banker Leszek Czarnecki that have been rocking Polish politics for over two weeks now.
US fast food chain Burger King returned to Slo- vakia after a seven year hiatus, under the banner of AmRest Holdings. The first restaurant opened at the Bratislava Bory shopping centre.
Toyota is reportedly considering taking over Groupe PSA’s plant in the Czech Republic at Ko- lin amid fears that Brexit may complicate its ex- ports of cars produced in the UK to EU countries.
According to Daily Les Echos, PSA has decided to end the joint production of small cars with Toyota by 2021.
Lithuanian industrial production grew 9.2% y/y in October on a calendar-adjusted basis, accord- ing to data from Statistics Lithuania. The reading marks a return to growth after output fell in September after two years of uninterrupted expansion.
Profit of the Estonian business sector returned to fast growth in Q3. Estonian business posted amalgamated net profit of €871mn in the third quarter, growing 21% y/y, data released by Statistics Estonia showed.
Poland is aiming for a gradual reduction of the role of coal in its energy mix that will be compen- sated by growth in offshore wind, solar, and nucle- ar power capacity, according to a draft long-term energy policy revealed by the ministry of energy. Nearly 80% of the Polish economy is currently powered by coal-fired power plants, but the coun- try is under pressure to reduce the intensity of its CO2 emissions in line with the EU’s climate policy.
The Lithuanian central bank issued an e-money license to Chinese controlled Paytend Europe, enabling Paytend Europe to issue e-money and provide payment services. Vilnius is seeking to become a regional fintech hub and facilitate payments between China and the EU.
Budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air announced new flights and the increase of their fleets in Hungary. The two already account for half of the turnover of the Liszt Ferenc International Airport.
Nato cyber defence exercises started in Esto- nia’s second city Tartu. The major Cyber Coalition exercises will involve testing and training cyber defenders from across Nato members.