European Union

Ukraine is going through a crucial period in its history, continuing its path toward joining the European Union despite a full-scale invasion. It is not a surprise that so much attention is drawn to this process both within Ukraine and beyond its borders. That is why Bendukidze Free Market Center and the Institute of Economic Research and Political Consultations launched the project \"Monitoring Ukraine\'s Accession Into the EU\".

Yes, this comment is about European regulations. It started with curved cucumbers and today not a day goes by that I do not send a few swear words in the direction of the Belgian capital over some minor but all the more annoying interference in my life. Somewhere high above, noble intentions such as privacy, space for competitors, or less waste are floating around, but at the end of the day, Kafkaesque bizarreness falls out of it.

A new regulatory avalanche is rolling in on entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Labour is about to implement the EU Gender Pay Directive. This introduces new bureaucratic obligations for entrepreneurs. They will have to inform about the criteria they apply when setting wages in the company and define the pay procedure so that the employee knows what he or she has to do to get higher pay.

We are pleased to present the nineteenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “20 Years in the EU: CEE and Its Path to Progress”. This time, our primary focus is on celebrating 20 years of several CEE states joining the European Union in the 2004 accession.

Bulgaria\'s per capita gross domestic product in purchasing power parity terms has reached 64% of the European average in 2023. This is one of the indicators that most accurately shows convergence within the European Union, as it takes into account the differences in prices across countries and therefore gives fully comparable values.

A global minimum tax model will reduce tax competition and put companies in a race for public subsidies. The idea of a minimum corporate tax rate of 15% for multinational groups, floating around in international platforms since 2013, has been implemented from the beginning of this year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreed on a new tax regime in 2021, followed a year later by the European Commission.

March 7, 2024, marks a significant date for the European Union and, potentially, the global digital landscape. A completely new set of rules for controlling competition will be fully applied. The Digital Market Act (DMA) reaches its final implementation milestone, aiming to create \"fair digital markets\" within the EU by curbing the influence of major tech companies.

Can Hungary be considered a democratic country? What challenges does the potential Donald Trump\'s victory in the United States pose to democracy? And what is it that the Action for Democracy aims for?

An EU sustainability regulation, part of the Green Deal, risks making entrepreneurship almost impossible in the European Union. By aiming to “harmonize” at the EU level the criteria for which economic activity “qualifies as environmentally sustainable”, the regulation in question will make doing business in the EU unnecessarily difficult. Complying with environmental legislation in the European Union, besides being controversial, is already very complicated.

The team from Liberte, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting and Bendukidze Free Market Center, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, continue to monitor Ukraine\'s progress or regression on its path to the EU on a monthly basis.