Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles have become one of the specialties of Polish exports. They mainly go to other EU member states. But in order to maintain the position of the EU leader and, at the same time, successfully compete with Asian producers, Poland must not only further develop its production capacity, but also produce lithium-ion batteries with a lower carbon footprint.
The process of drafting of national recovery plans under a difficult time constraints seems to be a handful for all of the Visegrad countries. The stakeholder involvement, streamlining their requests and transparency pose particular problems.
Visegrad governments should use the opportunity of the crisis for structural changes and reforms in the labour market, education and healthcare. They should also look beyond the GDP and embrace green transformation.
The attempts of China to gain influence is all the more reason to increase mutual cooperation between Germany and the Visegrad Group within our membership of the EU, says Renata Alt from German FDP in the interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.
Investing in people, public services and the business environment (including, crucially digital infrastructure) are appealing ways to achieve longer-term growth through making Hungarians and the Hungarian economy more productive. These types of policies respond to the challenges that were highlighted by the pandemic and can be helpful during the recovery but have the potential to spur further economic growth, writes Daniel Prinz.
In 2030, the last electricity produced from coal will flow in Eastern Greater Poland. In 2040 this part of the second largest Polish voivodeship intends to achieve climate neutrality. "It's not PR. We have it all carefully thought out", emphasizes the co-author of the strategy.
Awareness of the dangers of climate change is growing in the Visegrad countries. The vast majority of the inhabitants of these countries also want climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050. However, this does not yet mean that the same number of them is ready to make consumer choices that limit their environmental and climate impact.
Within the Recovery Plan in the field of digitization, the Slovak government emphasizes state´s IT. However, private companies affected by the corona crisis are wondering how the targeted support for industry - that is still lagging behind in digitization - will look like. They have now presented their own proposals to the government.
The recovery of European economies after the coronavirus pandemic may become – thanks to national recovery plans financed by the EU funds – a prelude to catching up with climate goals. Are the Visegrad countries ready to seize the opportunity?
Slovakia struggles to be on top of the changes the automotive sector is undergoing, including the green and digital transformation. While Slovakia scores in car production output, in innovation it lacks behind its Visegrad neighbours.
The latest Report on the State of the Rural Areas indicates a number of demographic, economic and social challenges that the rural areas in Poland currently face. Is migration to cities also one of them?
The use of internet is becoming more and more widespread. However, many users are still unaware about the accompanying risks.