In June 2024, the European Commission assessed that it was justified to open the excessive deficit procedure, among others, for Poland. In the EC’s assessment, the published report justifies the initiation of the excessive deficit procedure for seven countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia.
In recent days, the media in Poland have been dominated by information about the dispute over the election subsidy for Law and Justice (PiS), as well as the intense actions of the new government aimed at addressing the abuses of the United Right authorities. The awaited decisions by the National Electoral Commission and the arrest of former Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Romanowski are the main topics captivating public opinion.
The current process of negotiating salary increases for public servants should also be seen in the context of international comparisons. Slovakia spends the most on salaries in the whole V4, not only as a share of total public administration expenditure but also as a share of GDP. In these comparisons, Slovakia spends more than the EU average.
In its program statement, the government announced its intention to increase the progressivity of personal taxation. In the budget plan, it already speaks specifically of the intention to “introduce 3rd and 4th personal income tax rates from 2025,” which is expected to increase public revenues by EUR 78 million. A 3rd rate of 30% is to apply to annual personal income above EUR 80 000.
Earlier this month, it became clear that the World Bank has classified Bulgaria as a high-income country. This news is an important reflection of the long-term growth trajectory and catching-up process of the developed countries, particularly those in the European Union. Still, it is far from meaning that Bulgaria already has a guaranteed spot in the rich countries club and does not have any difficult problems to solve.
Bulgaria loses between 2.4 and 4.9 billion USD of additional GDP per year due to discrimination against LGBTI+ people, as estimated in a report[1] by the Institute for Market Economics (IME). Bulgaria’s GDP could be 2.5% to 5% higher were there to be full acceptance and equality for LGBTI+ people, according to an estimate by IME based on the 2023 data.
In the past weeks, the convergence reports of the European Commission and the European Central Bank were published. The result for Bulgaria is expected – the inflation rate is higher than the reference value and therefore the country does not meet this Eurozone membership criterion. In practice, this puts an end to the question of whether the country can adopt the euro on 1 January 2025 – no, there is no such possibility.
Regulations are suffocating our freedoms, interfering with our lives, livelihoods, and comforts. Freedoms should be the priority of decision makers, but even the most basic freedoms such as those of trade and movement, vitally important principles in the EU, were set aside on the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Farming is becoming a hot topic in the most powerful rooms in Brussels. But unlike those working in agriculture, EU politicians are oblivious to temperature change. The complexities of agriculture merit more attention from European politicians than what it currently gets.
Ukraine is experiencing an intense heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The situation is exacerbated by frequent power outages, lasting 15 to 18 hours a day, rendering air conditioners useless. These power shortages, the result of significant damage to Ukraine’s power infrastructure caused by Russian military actions in March and April 2024, are profoundly impacting the daily lives of Ukrainians daily lives and business operations.
