Orbán’s Illiberal Democracy
Following the elections in spring 2010, the Orbán government began dismantling the institutions underlying the democratic rule of law and the system of checks and balances, discrediting and ignoring fundamental rights.
Russia
Anti-capitalism in Hungary: The Energy Reforms
Recent energy reforms in Hungary made the country dependent upon Russia what in the midst of the current EU-Russia relations strongly affected by the escalating tensions makes the situation of Hungary more difficult.
Turning Away From “The Road to Serfdom“: Re-Defence of Liberalism
European ideal is not – to my mind – “being the first“ at any costs. Europe does not need to conquer anybody – these times are over and the fundamentally colonialist subconscious idea of Lisbon Strategy has faded into our Medieval past.
#4discussion: Ukraine and Russia One Year After Introducing Sanctions
We have the pleasure to present you the first round of 4discussion devoted to the situation in Ukraine and the EU sanctions directed at Russia. See what do Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Taavi Roivas, Tanja Porcnik and Ivan Miklos say on the topic and feel free to comment on that!
The Current Energy Options in Europe: Principles of Economic Liberty and the Situation in Ukraine
We have to create a comprehensive set of energy options that would leave us less vulnerable in the face of the power escalation with any potential adversary in control of a considerable energy resource.
Ukraine 2016: Closer to Stabilization, Far Away From Growth
The economic situation in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 will depend on progress in externally supported reform program and on stabilization in the Eastern Ukraine. Fiscal consolidation, decline in real wages and unemployment will cause reduction of real private consumption. Weak hryvnia, despite dragging down consumption and investments, helps to increase fiscal revenues and narrow the current account deficit.
Milk Price Control in Lithuania?
After a long negotiation between milk producers, processors and sellers, the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture has proposed a new bill that would severely tighten the regulation of the Lithuanian dairy market. The authors of the bill claim that their intention is to protect Lithuanian producers, bring confidence to the market and boost the consumption of milk products. But is it really so? The proposed privileges for milk producers are nothing else but an iron curtain that will shift the…
‘Weakness Always Emboldens’: An Interview with Adam Michnik
“Nations, just like women, experience brief moments of intoxication. But those moments pass soon enough.”. Adam Michnik talks to Leszek Jażdżewski, editor-in-chief of Polish liberal quarterly magazine Liberté!, about how a brief moment of European weakness will affect Russia in the end and what can go wrong in the meantime.
The Pressing Need for Energy Union
While creating the Energy Union, the EU should do its best to employ such mechanisms that would limit the regulatory power over the prices of sources and energy of individual states on the national level as much as possible. Such a solution applied to this specific market would – at least to some extent – secure a proper space for market principles and energy prices reflecting incomes of the citizens of a respective state.
What Has Happened with Georgian Lari?
I don’t believe that we need central banking, monetary policy or our national monetary unit. Without this, we can’t avoid two essential problems – politicization of the monetary politics and also its competitiveness. But by saying this I do not wish to imply that in this particular case of devaluation of the lari the central banking system was the major problem. Quite the opposite.
