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Austrian Far-Right Victory Will Energise Central European Nationalists
30 September 2024
The recent declaration by the Friends of Cohesion puts the group on a direct collision course with more frugal member states of the European Union over the next Multiannual Financial Framework. Find below this and other news highlights from the week as well as stories that will be developing in the near future.
In last week’s V/I news roundup, I already mentioned the impact of an economic downturn in Germany for the Visegrad countries (V4). This week, further reports have emerged that question the region’s capacity to cope with a further deterioration of the global economy.
An economic forecast of the Vienna Institute of International Economic Studies confirms that a slowdown is likely, given the V4’s high reliance on exports and its close integration with Germany. Recent Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for the region signals a future contract is likely, with Poland (45,60), Czechia (45) clearly below the 50 mark while Hungary (51,90) remains just above (ed. no actual data available for Slovakia). However, the Vienna Institute expects a “soft landing” rather than an outright collapse of the economy.