-?This week a major demonstration took place on the streets of Warsaw with the participation of about 10?000 farmers, truckers, miners and hunters. The gathering aimed to protest the influx of agricultural goods arriving to Poland from Ukraine.
-?Slovenian prisons are drastically overcrowded – the occupancy rate of a prison in Ljubljana is over 200%. As of now almost 2?000 people are in prison in Slovenia, about 850 of which are foreign nationals.
-?The Cincu NATO battle group is going to be strengthened in the year of 2025 – the number of stationing soldiers on the Romanian base will be raised from the current 1?500 to 4?000, while the battle group is also expected to be reinforced with high tech military technology and machinery from France.
- Farmer protests have been ongoing for months in Poland, this week the largest protest yet has been organised with the participation of truckers, miners and hunters. The gathering protested the influx of agricultural goods arriving to Poland from Ukraine. Protestors waved banners urging Poles not to eat the low quality food arriving from Ukraine – some banners turned explicitly against Ukraine, calling them ‘ungrateful’. The protestors, some of which has been involved in blocking border crossing points since early February to prevent the arrival of agricultural products from the war-torn East European country, also spoke up against the EU’s strict environmental regulation that puts pressure on farmers. The organisers of the protest announced that around 10?000 farmers participated in the gather, which Warsaw’s major, Rafa? Trzaskowski also confirmed.
- A so-called ‘price war’ between Poland’s two largest supermarket chains, Lidl and Biedronka has been intensifying over the last couple of weeks as both firms state that they are the cheapest shop in the country. First, Lidl claimed that it is ‘cheaper than Biedronka in 2023’, which Biedronka challenged in an advertisement claiming that its shops are ‘cheaper than Lidl since 2002’. In a recent court ruling amidst the ‘price war’ Biedronka was instructed to remove the above-mentioned advertisement, as it provided no evidence for its claim against Lidl. Parallel to their court disputes, the two chains has been lowering their prices to demonstrate: they are cheaper than the other.
- Over the last couple of years, the standing of Czechia’s economy worsened in the European Union. According to the Prosperity Financial Health Index in 2022 Czechia was the 9th, in 2023 the 12th but now in 2024 the country occupies only the 14th position in the EU-wide ranking. Despite the country’s complex industrial landscape as the country experienced high inflation rates as well as lower rates of added value, its ranking decreased. Czechia experienced the second highest rate of inflation in the EU, totalling 12% in the past year. The price of Czechia’s food basked significantly increased, with some items, such as sugar recording a 40% year-on-year increase.
- The state-owned Chinese firm, the CITIC Group recently sold all its stake in Smartwings to the Czech company, Prague City Air. As a result of the purchase, now a 100% of the company’s shares are in Czech shareholders’ control.
- Slovenian prisons are drastically overcrowded – a total of 1?808 persons were in prison in the country, which puts an average Slovene prison occupancy rate to 139%. In Ljubljana, the capital, the prison occupancy rate is over 200%, while the country’s largest prison in Dob has an occupancy rate of 128%. According to the Prison Administration over the last couple of years a sharp increase happened in the number of convicted detainees for smuggling of people across the border. As of now 850 foreigners are in prison in the country. The country’s prison authorities attempt to solve the issue by building a new men’s prison (to be opened in 2025) and also by deferring sentences, transferring foreign nationals to their country of origin and also by early release.
- The largest hotel group in Croatia, Valamar Riviera, made a net profit of 33.6 million euros in the year of 2023. The net profit reached by the Group in the past year present a 58.2% increase compared to the year before. Valmar’s total revenues reached 375.4 million euros, while the Group’s recorded operating revenue was 372.2 million euros, that is 14.4% higher than in 2022. ?The Group employed over 8?000 people, and it has invested 25 million euros to increase its employees’ salary. Valamar also realised investments totalling 58 million euros, improving its hotels, opening a family entertainment centre and also realising sustainability related projects such as constructing bike paths and improving its beaches.
- The NATO battle group based in Cincu, Romania will be raised to brigade level in 2025. The number of allied soldiers stationing at the base will be raised from 1?500 to 4?000 while 50 Leclerc tanks will also be deployed to the Romanian base. Most of the arriving soldiers will be French, as France is the host nation for the Romanian NATO battle group. Strengthening NATO’s presence in its Eastern Flank is now the Alliance’s strategic interest to reinforce its borders as the war in Ukraine continues to drag on.
