Liberalni Institute

Ukrainian Students for Freedom, European and Czech Students For Liberty, and Operation “Kyseláč” at the Liberal Institute invite you to the second annual Ukrainian Renaissance conference, this time in Lviv! During this two-day international event, we will speak with Ukrainian and international experts and explore the topics of Ukrainian resilience, renewal, and reforms the country can undertake to strengthen its economy and its place in Europe.

Ostrava is an often overlooked region in the Czech Republic, facing a very difficult and uncertain future over the next decades. The region has historically been entirely dependent on coal mining, which is an unenviable position at present time, as the mines are being closed. Mining has historically made it the industrial backbone of the country, but heavy industry is currently in decline.

Javier Milei’s victory in the Argentinian presidential elections surprised the world and at the same time inspired a wave of interest in this South American country, about which not much is known in the Czech Republic or Europe in general. What was the political and economic situation in Argentina in recent years that allowed someone with such radical proposals to be elected President, while acting more like a carnival entertainer than a politician?

In order to survive the winter better, we decided to try something new this time, a weekend-long urban seminar. We debated with students about economics and liberalism. We were originally inspired to do this idea years ago by an analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, but we never got around to implementing it. Until now, thanks to a generous grant from the Atlas Network.

Various prohibitionist strategies have been part of modern society for many years. However, they are more like a hydra whose head, when cut off, grows two more. Recently, the substance HHC – chemically related to THC, which is found in marijuana – has attracted attention. Until now, it has not fallen under any prohibition legislation, but that will change with the arrival of March 2024.

While we import almost 3 million tons of green beans into the EU every year, we only import around 80,000 tons of roasted beans. The price of unroasted coffee on the exchange is usually between 40 and 120 CZK/kg (select unroasted coffee can be bought wholesale for around 250 CZK/kg, but prices can rise dramatically here). 

With many countries in Central Europe in the election season and with the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza, the war in Ukraine has somewhat disappeared from the front pages. Indeed, several leading political forces in Central Europe have become less outspoken about their support for Ukraine or have indicated an intention to scale it down, hoping to regain support from populist factions.

The Israeli-Palestinian war has stirred emotions well beyond the Levant. However, we should approach the censorship of public speech with a cooler head. The British Home Secretary has warned that waving the Palestinian flag might be deemed a criminal act. France has banned pro-Palestinian protests, and so has Germany. The Chief Minister of an Indian state directed the police to address pro-Palestinian statements on social media.

Currently, Europe is focusing on other issues, particularly environmental protection and the fight against climate change. To this end, a broad investment strategy has been developed, which is detailed in the Green Deal and other related plans. A key component of these strategies is the energy sector, where the European Union has set ambitious targets for transitioning away from coal-fired energy sources and promoting the use of renewable sources.

The Liberalni Institute calculated that with an average wage of CZK 40,086, the total cost per employee is 63% higher, i.e. CZK 65,376. This is the second year of the Cost of an Employee project, which the Liberalni Institut publishes in cooperation with the Slovak think tank INESS and the German FNF Foundation. The aim of the project is to calculate the total cost of a job for different types of employees.