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The Regions This Week
April 28, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
Central Europe
Media freedom in the Visegrad and Baltic states largely went into reverse in 2017, the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders showed. Estonia was the only one of the seven states to avoid falling down the ranking. The worst offender was Hungary as the country fell a further 4 places to 71st.
All three Baltic states saw their economic sen- timent indicators improve in April, data from the European Commission showed on April 27. The Estonian ESI improved the most, gaining 1.2 points to sit at 106.6 in April, a new 12-month high. The other two Baltic states saw their ESIs grow 0.3 points each, pushing their composite readings to 106.2 in Lithuania and 105.7 in Latvia.
Poland’s economic sentiment indicator gained 1.1 points to 103.8 in April. The result is in line with recent pick up in the real economy. The read- ing sees the index improve for a second month
in a row. All five sub-indices grew, pushing the headline to a 12-month peak.
PGNiG signed a spot deal to buy LNG from the US. The purchase from Cheniere Energy, the op- erator of the only LNG export terminal in the US, will see US LNG arrive in Central & Eastern Eu- rope for the first time, with Warsaw accelerating efforts to expand alternatives to buying in Russian supplies.
Support for Poland’s main opposition Civic Platform (PO) rose above the level for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) in a poll for the first time in nearly two years, a survey by Kantar Millward Brown showed. It is the first poll since May 2015 to show the populist and nationalist PiS trailing. The ruling party's advantage over the centrist PO and other opposition parties has been on the de- crease recently, especially after the ruling party’s humiliating failure in March to block the re-elec- tion of Donald Tusk for a second term as head of the European Council.
The dismissal of Poland’s foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has been decided on as part of an upcoming government reshuffle, lo- cal media claimed. Speculation over changes in the government lineup has intensified recently in Poland, and has increasingly focused on Waszc- zykowski. The foreign minister is seen as the fall guy for Poland’s humiliating failure to derail the re-election of Donald Tusk.
The Czech economy and banks face various but manageable risks from the removal of the cap on the koruna, Moody’s said. The Czech National Bank scrapped its limit of CZK27 to the euro on April 6. While exports could be adversely affected, the rating agency notes, favourable conditions in the Eurozone are seen acting as a buffer for growth.
Czech economic confidence broke a four-month fall as it gained 0.8 points on a monthly basis to stand at 97.4 in April. The rise is the first since the sentiment indicator scaled the heights of 99.3 in November. Despite the pullback in the first quarter, confidence remained buoyant in the wider scheme of things, accompanying strong showings in many neighbouring countries, including Germany – the source of a huge chunk of export demand.
Hungary’s government will submit the 2018 draft budget to Parliament on May 2 after the Budget Council gave the go ahead for the plan
on April 27. The government expects economic growth to exceed 4% and inflation to push to 3%. The budget deficit is targeted at 2.4% of GDP – the same level as this year's forecast. However, the government also targets a drop in state debt to 72-73%, from the 74% at which it ended 2016.
The rate of emigration from Hungary fell by 10% in 2016, with some 29,400 Hungarian citi- zens leaving the country last year. Hundreds of thousands have left in recent years as EU labour markets opened up. Hungarians working abroad for a year or more sent home some €3bn in 2016. The level of remittances has tripled since 2011.