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Russians Go Home, Say Hungarian Voters
13 April 2026
The announcement of Sebastian Kurz to join the V4 meeting in Prague signals a continuation of the Austrian chancellor’s previous interest to act as a bridge between East and West. Symbolic gestures, however, may not be enough to find agreement on sensitive European issues.
Inflation appears to be the main challenge for the V4 economies in the upcoming year. After reports about a gradual economic slowdown last year, following weakness of the German manufacturing industry, the latest news brings additional concern for governments, central banks and businesses.
This week, both Poland and Slovakia indicated a higher than expected inflation rate for the upcoming year. The Polish inflation rate for December stood at 3.4 per cent (higher than the expected 2.9 per cent), while Slovakia reported the highest inflation since 2012. Figures are similar for Czechia (3.2) and Hungary (4), with the latter at greatest risk of overheating.