Economy

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski recently announced plans to introduce a digital tax in Poland on the revenues or profits of big tech corporations operating in the country.¹ The funds raised would be used to subsidize the development of Polish companies and start-ups in the digital technology sector and media.

With iron regularity, texts appear in the public sphere about powerful lobby groups influencing politics, or even dictating to governments what legislation to adopt and what policies to pursue domestically and internationally. First, we need to analyze the idea of a wealthy entrepreneur who, instead of developing their business in a \'market-oriented\' way, spends their time trying to convince politicians to secure advantages for their business from the state.

Advocates of state intervention and regulation believe that these mechanisms can improve the environment by suppressing the free market. Over time, they have become an increasing challenge for defenders of capitalism and the free market economy. The solution to global warming, air pollution, and so on is therefore said to be less market and more state planning.

It is now official – Bulgaria will become the 21st member of the euro area. This concludes a years-long process of preparing the country to join the monetary union. The first euro coins and notes will appear in Bulgarian wallets on January 1, 2026. In June 2025, EU finance ministers unanimously approved Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone. The Bulgarian lev will be replaced by the euro at the beginning of 2026, with the exchange rate set at 1 euro = 1.95583 leva.

On July 3, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine presented its 2030 Employment Strategy aimed at supporting economic development by reducing unemployment, ensuring equal access to quality jobs, supporting SMEs, and increasing market flexibility. The Strategy is intended, among other things, to facilitate the creation of new jobs and reform the employment service system. It appears that the government’s primary focus will be on reactivating the economically inactive population, which exceeds 12 million people, and achieving a target of 20 million employed citizens.

Imagine a world without money. No more wars, because resources belong to all of humanity. The government ensures equal and just distribution of goods. Competition, egoism, banks, and capitalist greed vanish. People work not for pay, but to serve one another. No more stress, debt, or struggle to make ends meet.

The answer is Solomonic – we should be asking a different question. Most people have a correct, rough idea that healthcare is not free and that someone, somewhere, somehow pays for it. Some people are even aware of health insurance contributions, and the most knowledgeable among them even know how much these contributions are in relation to their salary.

Slovakia’s response to the tariff threat? The Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy have begun saying they want to redirect EU funds to help companies affected by US tariffs. We do not yet know exactly what this crisis will look like—but we already know the solution: European money. Journalists are asking us whether this is a good or a bad decision. You might be surprised, but I do not have an answer.

There is a great transportation divide between Western and Eastern Europe. The latter is slow to catch up to the growing high-speed train network of wealthier countries, hindering cohesion efforts. Trains revolutionized the transportation of people and goods, significantly reducing travel time and costs.

In 2022–2023, when Russian aggression blocked most of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, the small river ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaisk quietly became lifelines. Grain, metals, oil products — all rerouted through the Danube. Cargo volumes multiplied sixfold. But in 2024, things changed.With the reopening of the Black Sea corridor, cargo naturally shifted back.