Poland

Poles do not know how much and on what the Polish state spends their money. Meanwhile, the structure and size of public spending have a direct impact on their daily lives by influencing the level of taxation and the availability of public services.

The European think tank network EPICENTER has published the second edition of The Nanny State Index, an indicator of state paternalism in the European Union. The index evaluates restrictiveness of regulations governing the sale and consumption of food, soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes in 28 EU countries in 2016.

For over three decades, the position of the Constitutional Tribunal seemed to be solidly grounded in the Polish institutional landscape and the pluralistic public discourse. However, with the recent demolition of the Tribunal, we are faced with an end of an era.

In some countries (including Poland) parental leave can be fully flexibly divided between both parents. This sounds great, but in reality reinforces gender inequality. Therefore, the Commission has recently proposed the parental leave to become an individual right for mothers and fathers without a transfer of the four months to the other parent.

The government in Warsaw is considered to be one of the most conservative in the EU. In the country with practically no regulations for LGBT+ community, Law and Justice – the ruling party – manages to find the way to limit their rights even further.

On June 3, 2017, the delegates of the Extraordinary Convention of .Nowoczesna have endorsed Paweł Rabiej – the co-founder of .Nowoczesna – as the person who would run for the office of the Warsaw mayor. Thus, .Nowoczesna has become the first party to officially present a candidate.

Freedom and Entrepreneurship Foundation is hosting another Liberty English Camp, this time in Poland, in the town of Sobótka near Wroclaw. It\'s an informal event, during which liberty lovers will engage in debates, listen to lectures of international experts and – most importantly – have a lot of fun!

For Poland, introducing euro is, strategically, a very important step. The discussion (so far only theoretical) is conducted in two areas. First, a political debate is devoted to the direction of our integration. There is, however, a second debate – a strictly economic one.

”Lex Szyszko” became a symbol of a low-quality, discriminating law, which, however, was based on good intentions. It also became an example of how manipulated information can influence society through the Internet. This case should be a warning for every politician – citizens need a stable and predictable legislature.

Polish economic policy should aim to increase the country’s resilience and strengthen economic foundations. The safety margin, in the form of ensuring the appropriate fiscal space, must be maintained not only because of tensions in the world economy, but also in terms ofpossibly less sharp, cyclical slowdown.