The European Accessibility Act will reshape how banks and fintechs design their services—whether they’re ready or not. In an office in Vilnius, a team of fintech developers scrolls through a wireframe of a sleek new payments app. The colour palette is minimalist, the layout intui … | Continue reading
As Croatia’s beach resorts prepare for another bumper summer, businesses behind the scenes are scrambling—not for tourists, but for workers. The country’s demographic crisis threatens to drain the pool of available labour, turning seasonal sunshine into an economic headache. Croa … | Continue reading
Russia illustrates how legal systems, when deprived of independence and accountability, can become potent instruments of authoritarian resilience. Since the early 2000s, the Russian state has crafted a complex legal and institutional system aimed at reinforcing authoritarian rule … | Continue reading
While traditional European financial centres grapple with economic headwinds and regulatory complexities, Lithuania continues to punch above its weight, reinforcing its position as the EU’s largest fintech hub by license count. Lithuania, hitherto overshadowed by Europe’s more es … | Continue reading
If the EU fails to sanction those responsible for dismantling democracy in Tbilisi, Brussels risks sending a dangerous message to its candidate countries: that democratic backsliding comes without consequences. Democracy and freedom are slipping away in Georgia. Sanctioning the G … | Continue reading
Investors are becoming more selective, more cautious, and more data-driven than ever before. Locations need to step up. Foreign direct investment has long been framed as a competition. Countries line up, polish their pitch decks, compare tax incentives, and compete for attention … | Continue reading
Rebuilding the Ukrainian Premier Liha—once ranked among Europe’s top dozen leagues—will take time, investment, and most of all, peace. For now, football mirrors the country it represents: resilient, proud, and battered by forces far beyond the pitch. It seemed as though Ukrainian … | Continue reading
Central and Eastern Europe’s waste crisis can no longer be ignored or buried. But some forward-thinking municipalities have already proven that modern waste-to-energy initiatives not only solve environmental headaches but also create economic value. Across Central and Eastern Eur … | Continue reading
As e-commerce in Europe surges to new heights, online retailers are facing an urgent challenge that threatens to derail their growth: data chaos. With e-commerce revenues in countries like Poland, Romania, and Czechia growing by double digits and marketplaces such as Allegro and … | Continue reading
The Western Balkans stands at a pivotal juncture. With continuing reforms and stronger private sector engagement, the region has an opportunity to forge a more competitive, sustainable, and inclusive economy. With its deep cultural ties to the European Union and history of resili … | Continue reading
Stronger regional cooperation could help weaker educational systems leapfrog developmental stages. Czechia’s best practices, Estonia’s technological innovations, and Poland’s entrepreneurial zeal can be shared more widely through structured forums and partnerships. In 1989, a sur … | Continue reading
A majority of CEOs in CEE now recognise the importance of innovation and reinvention, saying that their businesses will not be viable in 10 years’ time under their current business model. While CEOs in Central and Eastern Europe recognise the importance of innovation and reinvent … | Continue reading
Latvia’s strategic position, investor-friendly environment, and subtle yet effective commitment to innovation mean it deserves far more than just a passing glance from anyone seeking fresh opportunities in Europe’s rapidly evolving economy. Among the Baltic trio, Latvia often sit … | Continue reading
As the local start-up scene matures, Kazakh investors look to Europe’s tech hubs. Kazakhstan’s venture capitalists are getting restless. A decade ago, Astana and Almaty hardly registered as start-up cities, but today Kazakhstan boasts one of Central Asia’s most dynamic innovation … | Continue reading
GR8 Tech has been named Best Sports Betting Provider in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at the GamingTECH Awards 2025. The recognition, delivered at the Prague Gaming & TECH Summit, is a testament to GR8 Tech’s high-performance sportsbook solutions, client-centric approach, and … | Continue reading
The menu, music, and navigation in your car could well have been developed in a small office in Moldova. It is a quiet success story, but one that is making a big impact. Moldovan entrepreneur Gheorghe Ghirjev welcomes us with a broad grin, offering coffee, tea, and even gin. It … | Continue reading
Reinvention isn’t something you launch. It’s something you live. It doesn’t start with a LinkedIn post—it starts with a shift in behaviour. Everywhere you look, organisations are transforming—at least on paper. There’s a new vision deck. A bold tagline. A press release filled wit … | Continue reading
Vacationing in Dictatorships: International Tourism in Socialist Romania and Franco’s Spain, by Adelina Ștefan. Dictatorships are not generally renowned for their hospitality—yet sunshine, sand, and surveillance can often make for an unexpectedly popular holiday cocktail. In Vaca … | Continue reading
Poland has spent decades championing coal despite Europe’s increasingly urgent battle against climate change. Now, in a twist of atomic ambition, Warsaw wants to power past its sooty legacy and switch on its first-ever nuclear plant, with American help—and a mountain of state sup … | Continue reading
If you’re still picturing dowdy state factories and questionable ‘business lunches’, it’s time to wake up. Central and Eastern Europe is writing an electrifying new story of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability—one that’s rewriting the region’s reputation faster than y … | Continue reading
Poland’s game exports exceeded 1.2 billion euros in 2023. Czechia’s film and TV production pumped over 600 million euros into the economy. The creative sector in the region is booming, and with it, global recognition. Ask a teenage gamer in California what they know about Poland, … | Continue reading
America’s corporate giants are quietly deleting diversity from their playbooks. Europe’s firms should not follow suit; instead, now is precisely the moment for them to double down on inclusion—and gain a decisive competitive edge. For years, ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ (DE … | Continue reading
For the first time in his long political career, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić faces a serious public challenge to his leadership. However, his staying power remains strong. The EU has an opportunity to play a significant role in mitigating the unrest while luring Serbia out … | Continue reading
In a world that profits from your distraction, reinvention becomes a quiet act of rebellion. Reinvention requires space. Not just physical space or time on a calendar, but mental space—the kind of clarity that allows for reflection, pattern recognition, and deliberate choice-maki … | Continue reading
The decisions made by the new Bundestag will determine whether Europe moves toward stronger unity and security, or risks deeper divisions and vulnerability. Germany’s recent Bundestag elections on February 23 weren’t just crucial for Germans—they shaped the future for Ukraine ami … | Continue reading
Romania has weathered a political storm, but it remains firmly anchored in the democratic and Western world. The cancellation of Romania’s presidential elections in December 2024 and the decision to reschedule them for May 2025 raised serious concerns both at home and abroad. At … | Continue reading
Moldova’s rich winemaking tradition, rooted in passion and craftsmanship, is gaining momentum in international markets. Brazil holds a special place. Although the country has been a hub for winemaking for centuries, Moldovan wines have only recently started making a notable impac … | Continue reading
GR8 Tech is enhancing sportsbook engagement with a new ‘Fancy Mode’ feature—a UI upgrade that offers the look and feel of exchange betting while keeping operators’ revenue models intact By introducing an exchange-inspired interface without modifying underlying bet calculation mec … | Continue reading
Central Asia’s venture ecosystem is reaching a new level, positioning the region as an increasingly significant player on the global venture map. Central Asia’s tech entrepreneurs are beginning to shine brighter, attracting a steady flow of investment and venturing well beyond re … | Continue reading
To achieve high-income status, middle-income countries in Europe and Central Asia must prioritise reforms that will foster the infusion of capital, knowledge, and expertise, boost private sector innovation and dramatically improve education outcomes. Communism ditched, the countr … | Continue reading
Extensive dental labs, better fertility treatment, and California-credited medical studies—Moldova is playing big in the health sector. Twelve years ago, a young Moldovan graduate, Vadim Vetrilă, was handing out flyers in Venice. “Come and fix your teeth in Moldova!” he would urg … | Continue reading
GR8 Tech, an award-winning provider of innovative technological solutions for the iGaming industry, will share its extensive AI expertise at the upcoming Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025. Opening the event’s agenda, a panel discussion, The Rise of AI in Gaming: Friend, Foe, or In … | Continue reading
The cost of further EU enlargement will be high. But the cost of not enlarging the Union—both economic and geopolitical—could be higher still. European leaders never miss an opportunity to declare that the future of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the Western Balkans lies within t … | Continue reading
Reinvention isn’t always about upgrades and optimisation. Sometimes, it’s about starting from scratch. For most people, the idea of starting over carries a sense of failure. It feels like admitting defeat, like discarding years of work and experience. We celebrate persistence, re … | Continue reading
Europe’s eastern frontier is feeling the full brunt of a warming world. From rivers bursting their banks to fields withering in record heat, emerging Europe stands on the climate front line—and must act fast. Winter arrived late to the streets of Bucharest this year. Beyond a sho … | Continue reading
In Ukraine’s darkest hours, a constellation of tiny satellites has provided a crucial lifeline. Yet the very technology that lifts the fog of war also casts a troubling shadow over Kyiv’s strategic independence. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has gro … | Continue reading
Vaccine hesitancy cost lives during Covid-19—but countries in Central and Eastern Europe can learn from Britain’s, and from each other’s, success at overcoming such obstacles. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccines were touted as the silver bullet to end lockdowns a … | Continue reading
Boomerang Partners, a rapidly growing global brand, operating around the world, including emerging European countries, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Casino Guru Awards in two categories: The Fairest Bonus Policy and The Most Ethical Approach to Marketing. As stated on … | Continue reading
Europe has turned 12 billion euros of start-up funding into a half-trillion-euros tech jackpot. When the European Union pours money into start-ups, it doesn’t just fund ideas—it unlocks immense value. A new report by Dealroom, Dealflow.eu, and EU-Startups reveals that 12 billion … | Continue reading
A Czech start-up is taking on one of the world’s most pressing public health threats—counterfeit medicines. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are an escalating global crisis, exacerbating the fentanyl epidemic and putting millions of lives at risk. In the United States alone, counterfe … | Continue reading
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in millions of Ukrainian exiles, mostly women, forced to start new lives in other countries. A new study however reveals that Ukrainian women living and working abroad in the tech sector face significant stereotypes, ageism, and l … | Continue reading
Most education systems still reward specialisation over adaptability, certainty over curiosity, and memorisation over creativity. By the time current students graduate, entire industries may have shifted, job roles may have disappeared, and the skills they spent years mastering m … | Continue reading
GR8 Tech has launched a major upgrade to its Tournament engine, featuring a new tournament lobby, enhanced multi-currency support, and manual prize distribution. These new additions allow operators to run global tournaments more efficiently while boosting player engagement. “Tour … | Continue reading
While Silicon Valley had its PayPal Mafia, Estonia came to pride itself on a Skype Mafia—an influential circle of ex-Skypers whose successes have defined the modern Estonian tech landscape. In a world where digital services appear and vanish with bewildering speed, few brands hav … | Continue reading
It’s not just Ukraine. Kosovo should expect to face many new, daunting challenges during the next four years. A strong and visionary leader will be needed to tackle the shifting political landscape in the European theatre and the alarming implications of Donald Trump’s return to … | Continue reading
The states of Central Asia are awash with oil, gas, and precious minerals. Yet in an era of shifting global markets and the inexorable march towards renewable energy, their reliance on extraction now looks like a liability as much as an asset. Central Asia is blessed with abundan … | Continue reading
For Ukrainian companies, expanding into international markets is no longer just an ambition; it has become a necessity. However, navigating the complexities of global trade requires more than determination. Acknowledging this need, the Visionest Institute—an esteemed educational … | Continue reading
Georgia may have decades ago broken free from the Soviet Union, but its struggle for true independence is far from over. For the 15 nations once trapped behind the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Union represented not just stagnation but an imposed paralysis—a system designed to suppres … | Continue reading