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The Hungarian state’s share in the economy is high – but mostly in line with other countries. What stands out among OECD countries is the number of companies owned partially or wholly by the state that attests to some degree of micromanagement.

In finance and development, Law and Justice has also set a controversial goal of boosting state control over the economy. One of the main obstacles for Poland’s development – based on the government\'s Plan for Responsible Development – is a lack of balance between foreign and domestic capital.

Similar to other CEE economies, privatization in Bulgaria did not start with the 1989–1990 transition period. The same applied to other market reforms, too, as the dominant view among policymakers at that time was that Bulgaria should undertake gradual changes to minimize social suffering.

This article summarizes the main legal forms of enterprises (state enterprises, national enterprises, and state shareholdings in private companies) through which the Czech state operates inside the economy, and provides important examples in each category.

In Serbia there is a plethora of possible government policy actions beyond the establishment and operation of SOEs. Having in mind the negative results stemming from the operation of SOEs, to alleviate this problem an approach other than appointing new management is necessary, as might be heard in public discourse.

The first 16 years of the post-1989 period in Slovakia can be described as an era of privatization. A majority of the state-owned economy was transformed into a market-oriented model, where state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain the only key player in several sectors.

Milton Friedman once remarked that “you must separate out being pro-market from being pro-business”, and continued: “the two greatest enemies of the free enterprise system, in my opinion, have been on the one hand my fellow intellectuals, and on the other hand, the big businessmen – for opposite reasons”.

We have the pleasure to present you the seventh issue of the 4liberty.eu Review. This time, we focus on the issue of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from the point of view of the Central and Eastern European states in an attempt to provide the broadest possible perspective.

This paper compares the regulatory environment in Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia with the objectives and aims outlined in the European Agenda. Along with innovative examples of the collaborative economy in these four countries, attention is devoted to the areas where there is room for improvement.

We are a network of 15 think tanks from CEE countries. Our members actively work to promote liberalism on a daily basis in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Georgia. We do our utmost to make a liberal perspective from our region more accessible and available both in Europe, and the world.