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Writing and written symbols accompany us everywhere—from shopping and street signs to the public realm and our homes. Language\'s complex encoding is so multifaceted that entire libraries could be filled with treatises on its origins, meaning, purpose, and relevance. Yet, writing and the ability to read and write are above all instruments of freedom.

The new Trump administration’s recent political offensive targeted at the European Union, as well as its fairly ambiguous approach towards the question of the Russo-Ukrainian war, have led Brussels to initiate a desperate search for EU-based solutions within the sphere of security and defense. Decision-making processes stretching over the past few months have undergone a sudden acceleration.

Twenty years ago, politics was the domain of debate, analysis, and long-form interviews. But today, in an era of short-form content and the dominance of TikTok in particular, has it become a spectacle? Algorithms favor viral content, politicians adapt to trends, and voters make decisions based on catchy messages rather than in-depth arguments.

Deregulation has been a loaded word among many European politicians and experts lately, with growing discussions on reducing bureaucracy and easing the burden on citizens and businesses. However, is this often-used term and concept actually feasible? And how has progress been made on this so far? It has undoubtedly become a European trend, discussed not only by EU leaders but also within EU institutions.

Harassment, hate speech, violent online content, and disinformation—these are long-standing tactics of alt-right movements that are only now entering the mainstream of public debate. However, it is worth noting that women were their first targets years ago. Today, as the internet becomes increasingly radicalized and nationalist groups grow louder and more influential, we should ask: how have women fought against fascist environments?

The illusory truth effect is a psychological phenomenon describing the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. One example I can think of in Slovakia is the statement about \"cherry-picking\" in the hospital sector. Lower-tier hospitals cherry-pick the easy and profitable patients and send the rest to the larger state hospitals, which then make economic losses on them.

I often hear the phrases \'real price\' or \'justified price\', for example, in the question of ambulances or hospitals. They make my economic hair stand on end. It reminds me of how deeply embedded healthcare is in the price thinking of planned economics. Before 1989 in Slovakia, the whole economy was run on the principle of price. A manager in a company calculated the price of steel, plastic, and man-hours to produce one Škoda 120 car, for example.

The wonderful thing about economics is that it recognizes truths about the world that laypeople cannot intuitively grasp, based on simple statements about human action. Consider two concepts: opportunity costs and marginal decision-making based on marginal benefits and costs. If you really understand these two concepts, then it must seem normal to you that there is such a thing as optimal environmental pollution.

In 2024, Romania will break the 50% government debt limit, becoming the EU country with the largest increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio since the start of the pandemic. High budget deficits - levels of 6-9% of GDP - have pushed Romania\'s debt from 35% in 2019 to 52% in 2024, with a forecast of close to 60% in 2026. In just a few years, Romania will likely have a higher debt than Germany.

The notorious case of a prosecutor who tried to review a court act issued by a judge of the Sofia Regional Court once again raises the question of the functions and status of judges and prosecutors. This issue is of the utmost importance in a country like ours, where the uncontrolled and selective (in the sense of arbitrary) actions of the prosecutor\'s office leave citizens with the impression that prosecutors, not judges, administer justice.