Articles

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.

Bulgaria\'s justice deficits have become an invariable part of local political discourse. Often, this leads to numerous statutory changes and rarely to a quality change of the environment.

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.

\"In what myth does a man live nowadays? (...) What is your myth – the myth in which you do live?\" – once asked Carl Jung. The answer that I/we live in a story probably would not satisfy the master, but... for now, I have no other. They lead us through life from event to event, interweaving between what is important to us, edifying or ruinous; between moments when we wonder who and what we are for; when we choose the direction we decide to go.

The festival of ideas is approaching, and our list of speakers continues to grow. The eleventh edition of Freedom Games will be held on October 18-20 at EC1 Lodz, under the theme \"City. Europe. Future\"! This year\'s edition will take us on a journey toward a better tomorrow, exploring the importance of cities in the context of Europe\'s future.

What is the relation between culture and populism? What should we know about EU cultural policy? And what is the role of philanthropy in shaping modern culture?

More and more people claim that liberalism has lost its power and influence over people. It has become entangled in futile discussions, whereas it should set the tone and provide solutions to our current challenges. As a result, it has betrayed the trust of people who see neither the courage of thought nor the consistency of action. How can this situation be changed?

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.