Marton Dunai

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The electric vehicle boom in a quiet Hungarian town

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía,

Sándor Máriás still remembers the Soviet fighter jets that kept him up all night as a child. He grew up during the communist era on a small farm next to a military air base outside Debrecen, in eastern Hungary. Their family home was 300 metres from the runway.

“The jets’ roar was deafening especially when they practised touch-and-go manoeuvres”, he recalls.

His family was one of a handful that the communist authorities allowed to keep their farm at a time of mandatory co-operatives. After the regime collapsed in 1989, the others all sold their land, but Máriás held out. That was until a wave of green technology started to wash over Debrecen.…  Seguir leyendo »

Will the energy crisis crush European industry?

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía,

As European businesses brace for energy shortages, workers at one plant in south-eastern France are getting a new winter wardrobe.

Saint-Gobain, the French building materials group, has ordered extra warm coats and gloves for staff at its warehouse in the Alpine town of Chambéry, who have agreed to turn down the heat this winter. In order to cut gas consumption, temperatures will be closer to 8C, instead of the usual 15C.

“It will be just like working outside so we have to give them all the tools to work in an outside environment”, says Benoit d’Iribarne, senior vice-president of manufacturing.

Turning down the thermostat is no mere cost saving for many of Europe’s industrial companies as they dig in for a hard winter.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Bank of Viktor Orbán

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía,

A cold early April wind blew over Budapest as Hungary’s illiberal leader stepped on stage for an election victory speech. Having secured his fourth successive landslide, Viktor Orbán was jubilant as he addressed a small crowd of party faithful outside the Whale, a swanky fish-shaped convention centre by the Danube.

“We sure are in good shape”, he said to laughter and applause. “We won so big you can see it from the Moon”.

Nearby, a group of bankers with close links to the prime minister’s elite circle was similarly relieved. Orbán, Europe’s longest-serving government leader, for years had backed their effort to merge three of the country’s largest banks into a single institution, hoping it would serve his political goals as much as customers.…  Seguir leyendo »