Page 22 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine May 2024

22 I Companies & Markets bne May 2024
particularly ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections.
Encouraging increased investments to support startups and the growth of small and medium enterprises, while also cultivating a business-friendly environment to attract global investment, is paramount.
Private equity investments in CEE have already been on
a steady upward trend, with the venture capital ecosystem in particular seeing exponential growth since 2016.
“This surge is backed by the region’s solid foundation for economic growth, a high percentage of engineering graduates, and a significant talent pool of developers,” says the report.
However, it warns of the impact of the war in nearby
Ukraine. “The geopolitical tensions, notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have intensified existing challenges in the investment scene, including supply chain disruptions and labour shortages,” it says. “However, the CEE region continues
Baltic states aim to go nuclear but have to wait
to navigate these complexities, adapting to changing market conditions and maintaining a trajectory of recovery and growth.”
Finally, establishing a balanced regulatory framework is vital to ensure competitiveness and foster the continued development of the digital economy in the CEE region.
“The evolution of new trends in the digital economy has prompted discussions on the need for further regulatory interventions,” said Michal Kanownik, initiator of CEE Digital Coalition and president of Digital Poland Association.
“As the multitude of norms can be a source of compliance costs for companies, creating a balanced regulatory environment is critical not only to accelerate development and facilitate activities of CEE companies engaged in innovating the EU’s economy but also to attract investments from like-minded countries outside the EU. Cooperation between the policymakers and the private sector is crucial for ensuring the competitiveness of our region when regulating the rapidly growing ICT sector.”
Lithuania is working on a plan to transfer radioactive waste that has been removed from the decommissioned Ignalina nuclear plant to a deep geological repository in the country, / EBRD
security in the wake of the Ukraine war and rising demand due to the growing electromobility sector.
“It seems that nuclear energy, which saw a major blow in Japan’s Fukushima [nuclear plant disaster] is seeing a strong comeback – and the Baltics is not an exception,” Vidmantas Jankauskas, former head of Lithuania's Energy Pricing Commission and, now, international energy regulatory expert and independent analyst, told bne IntelliNews.
Juris Ozolins, a Latvian energy expert, adds that, with the growth for electricity demand in the Baltic region, and considering that solar and wind energy may not be always handy, nuclear power reemerges as “perhaps the most reliable” source of electricity.
Linas Jegelevicius in Tallinn
First, it was Estonia that said it wants a compact, state-of- the art nuclear power plant built in the country in the future. Lithuania swiftly followed up, saying it also pins its hopes on nuclear energy. And, recently, Latvia, the third Baltic nation, admitted it is pondering a nuclear future, too, perhaps via a shared nuclear power project with Estonia
to the north.
The three Baltic states – which have had no nuclear reactors since the closure of Lithuania’s Soviet-designed Ignalina plant 15 years ago – are now all looking at small modular reactors (SMRs), though no firm decisions have yet been taken. As the Baltic states move over to renewables in order to reduce their carbon emissions, SMRs could provide a back-up to irregular renewable energy output, while also enhancing energy
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