Several restrictions related to the coronavirus were lifted in Budapest and Pest county on Monday, May 18. All shops could open and be visited; however, grocery stores, drugstores, pharmacies, shops selling medicines and medical aids, could still only be visited by those over 65 between the hours 9 a.m. and noon.

The preliminary investment volumes for Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) for the first quarter of 2020 reached circa EUR 3.7 billion, despite the onset of COVID-19 in CEE at the beginning of March, according to Colliers International.

The first macroeconomic data that already shows the effects of the pandemic were released in the past week, and they indeed reflect that the economy came to a halt in the first quarter of the year. However, first quarter GDP data was much less worse than expected, and placed in international comparison, it stands out from the rest of the EU. Worse is yet to come, analysts warn, but the government expects the economy to rebound in the second half of the year.

Romania’s producer prices dropped for the first time in more than three-and-a-half years in April, data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) shows. 

In April 2020 the volume of industrial production fell by 36.8% year-on-year, according to data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

Austrian Airlines is to resume flying operations on June 15 after a nearly 90-day halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, with flights planned to cities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Romania, SeeNews reports. 

Allianz Real Estate has acquired the 23,500 sqm Eiffel Square Office Building in Budapest in one of the CEE regionʼs largest transactions this year, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

The net asset value of investment funds in Hungary rose to HUF 7.211 trillion at the end of April, up by 0.3% from a month earlier, state news wire MTI reports, citing data released by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

Foreign direct investments in Croatia in 2019 totaled EUR 1.24 billion, up 19% on 2018, and the the highest annual amount of FDI since 2014, Croatian News Agency (HINA) reports. 

The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Hungary has increased to 3,970, up 16 compared to yesterday, according to data by government coronavirus information site koronavirus.gov.hu.

A lower race fee for the 2020 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix has been negotiated with Formula 1 rights holder Liberty Media, Zsolt Gyulay, in charge of the race venue on the outskirts of Budapest, said, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Only one in 20 companies in Poland plan to cut jobs, the head of a public think-tank has said as the country’s labor market calms after the initial shock of the virus crisis, according to Polish Radio. 

The National Food Chain Safety Agency (NÉBIH) launched an intensive communication campaign to pass on important knowledge for defense against ragweed, writes magyarmezogazdasag.hu. 

According to Rentingo, the average price of apartments in the capital was HUF 162,000 in May, rising 9% compared to April’s data, writes Forbes.hu.

The Bulgarian government is planning to re-introduce FiT payments for rooftop photovoltaic (PV) for a year, in a move which could revive the nation’s solar sector after years of limited growth, reports energy portal pv-magazine. 

Researchers at the University of Pécs are partnering with Austriaʼs CEBINA (Central European Biotech Incubator and Accelerator) to develop a coronavirus vaccine, state news wire MTI reports.

Estonia’s economy contracted in the first quarter of this year on weak household spending and investment, data published by Statistics Estonia (SE) shows. Gross domestic product fell 0.7% on a yearly basis in Q1, compared to fourth quarter’s 3.9% expansion.

Photon Energy has commenced construction on 10 photovoltaic power plants for its own PV portfolio with a total capacity of 14.1 MWp in Püspökladány (approximately 162 km east of Budapest), according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

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