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2 days ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
A new book documents the quiet reinvention of Ukrainian women amid Russia’s invasion. When war erupts, public attention typically fixates on frontline battles, geopolitical manoeuvres and military strategies. The wider human story—particularly of women adapting to extraordinary circumstances—often remains untold.
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1 week ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
In 1989, Romanians paid with their lives to escape dictatorship. Now they risk sleepwalking into isolation. For six months, Romania has lived in a state of suspended animation. The shock victory of an unknown ultranationalist, Călin Georgescu, in the first round of a presidential election in November triggered a constitutional crisis. The country’s highest court annulled the election, cancelling the second round, citing Russian interference.
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2 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
In a dramatic pivot from decades of economic isolation, Uzbekistan has placed 1.68 billion US dollars worth of state assets into foreign hands. Uzbekistan this week took a bold step toward economic liberalisation with the launch of the National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzNIF). The 1.68 billion US dollars fund, which holds minority stakes in 18 of the country’s strategic state-owned enterprises, became fully operational on May 1.
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2 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
Despite global trade tensions and manufacturing slowdown in Germany, Central and Eastern European economies demonstrate remarkable resilience with growth projections significantly outpacing the euro area. Donald Trump’s trade war might be rattling global markets, but Eastern Europe appears positioned to withstand the economic headwinds, according to the latest spring forecast from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw).
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2 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
As Brussels loosens the purse strings, defence tech start-ups across emerging Europe eye a windfall. With Russia’s artillery thundering less than 1,000 kilometres from Warsaw, the European Commission has made its most decisive move yet to bolster the continent’s defence capabilities. A new regulation proposed last week will fundamentally reshape how EU funds flow to defence firms—particularly benefiting the hungry young companies sprouting across Central and Eastern Europe.
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3 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
While tourists still flock to Croatia and Slovenia’s picturesque coastlines, a less visible invasion is underway. Data centres—the factories of the digital age—are staking their claim along the Adriatic. The gentle lapping of Adriatic waves against ancient stone harbours now increasingly competes with the hum of server fans. Croatia and Slovenia, countries better known for tourism and picturesque coastlines, are strategically positioning themselves as emerging digital infrastructure hubs.
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3 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
Ministers clink glasses every time a multinational lands in Central and Eastern Europe. But it’s time the region stopped chasing headlines and started backing the family bakeries, tool shops and start-ups that truly keep the lights on. In Târgoviște, a small town 80 kilometres northwest of Romania’s capital Bucharest, best known as the site of the princely court of 15th century ruler Vlad Țepeș (the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Maria Sandu’s workshop hums with activity.
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4 weeks ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
Demographic decline—an increasing problem across much of CEE and the Baltics—need not signal permanent retreat. Rather, it offers the perfect moment for reinvention. It’s no secret that demographic decline is quietly reshaping much of Central and Eastern Europe. Bulgaria’s population, once nine million strong, is now below seven million, shrinking as swiftly as Latvia’s, which has seen a fifth of its people vanish since 1991.
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1 month ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
While remittances, hydropower schemes, and fields have long defined Tajikistan’s economy, the writing on the wall is clear—reinvention is needed. Bold investments in technology and innovation could provide a promising alternative to traditional revenue streams. Landlocked and mountainous, Tajikistan’s economy is as rugged as its topography.
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1 month ago | 
emerging-europe.com | Craig Turp-Balazs |Craig Turp
In warehouses and tech parks from Kyiv to Kraków, entrepreneurs once building apps and software are now designing drones and cyber defences. Russia’s invasion forced a swift pivot, and in doing so, turned Central and Eastern Europe into the unexpected frontier of military-tech innovation and economic renewal. Russia’s war in Ukraine has not only shattered Europe’s decades-long peace but also reshaped economic geography, security, and investment flows across Central and Eastern Europe.
