Czech police say 10 people have been killed and dozens injured in a shooting at a university in central Prague. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Czech president, Petr Pavel, says he is "shocked by the events" at the Charles University. "I would like to express deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the shooting" - the Czech President wrote on the X network.

The National Bank of Hungary (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) reduced its base rate by 75bp to 10.75% at its December rate-setting meeting. Today's reduction of the base interest rate was already the third in 2023. The scale of the reduction was the same as at the previous rate-setting meeting in November.

The inflation rate in European Union countries fell by half a percentage point to 3.1% in November, marking the lowest level in nearly two years, according to the latest Eurostat report. An analysis of data from the 27 member states revealed that the highest rate of price growth was recorded in November in the Czech Republic (8% year on year). In Hungary, prices increased by 7.7% year on year. In Slovakia, inflation dropped to 6.9%. Meanwhile, in Poland, the pace of price growth remained at the…

On December 18, 1921 – three years after Poland regained independence and almost exactly two years after the establishment of the Polish Football Association – the Polish national football team played its first-ever official international match. The opponent was Hungary, a team considered one of the best in Europe at the time.

On Friday, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, held talks with the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, as announced in a statement released by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 15.

Hungary has obstructed the European Union's endorsement of a financial assistance package for Ukraine consisting of 50 billion euros ($55 billion). Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed financial aid just hours after allowing bloc to start membership talks with Kyiv.

In an official letter addressed to the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, on Thursday, Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga reminded that although there has long been consensus that defending the borders of the European Union is a collective responsibility of member states, Hungary almost exclusively bears the financial burden of protecting its southern Schengen border.

European Union unlocked €10.2 billion ($11 billion) of funding for Hungary on Wednesday, December 13. The move on the eve of a key European summit could also have implications for Ukraine.

Polish new Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that under his government Poland will reclaim its leading position in the EU and a strong position in the NATO by respecting the larger community. "Poland is and will remain a key, strong, sovereign element of the North Atlantic Alliance. It will be a loyal, stable, confident in its principles, strength, and significance ally of the United States. Poland will regain the position of a leader in the European Union.

The countries of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) will continue to support Ukraine in defense against Russia as each country sees fit.  

On Tuesday in Budapest, a scientific conference titled "Survival Networks II: People from the former communist system after 1989 in politics, economy, public life, and other segments of social life" took place. The conference was organized jointly by the Felczak Institute, the Petőfi Literary Museum, and the Hankiss Ágnes Institute. Scientists from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic participated in the event.

The results of the latest edition of the prestigious international PISA study show that both Polish and Czech fifteen-year-olds have maintained a high position globally in terms of mathematical skills, reading comprehension, and scientific reasoning. Young Hungarians also outperformed the average youth from the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.