Articles

Deregulation has been a loaded word among many European politicians and experts lately, with growing discussions on reducing bureaucracy and easing the burden on citizens and businesses. However, is this often-used term and concept actually feasible? And how has progress been made on this so far? It has undoubtedly become a European trend, discussed not only by EU leaders but also within EU institutions.

Is Donald Trump\'s presidency the beginning of a new era in the global world order? What is there to know about economic disruption and globalization in this context? And is the European Union overreacting in its response to the recent events or rather attempting to \'make Europe great again\'? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Matthew Kaminski, POLITICO\'s Editor-at-Large.

Harassment, hate speech, violent online content, and disinformation—these are long-standing tactics of alt-right movements that are only now entering the mainstream of public debate. However, it is worth noting that women were their first targets years ago. Today, as the internet becomes increasingly radicalized and nationalist groups grow louder and more influential, we should ask: how have women fought against fascist environments?

The illusory truth effect is a psychological phenomenon describing the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. One example I can think of in Slovakia is the statement about \"cherry-picking\" in the hospital sector. Lower-tier hospitals cherry-pick the easy and profitable patients and send the rest to the larger state hospitals, which then make economic losses on them.

I often hear the phrases \'real price\' or \'justified price\', for example, in the question of ambulances or hospitals. They make my economic hair stand on end. It reminds me of how deeply embedded healthcare is in the price thinking of planned economics. Before 1989 in Slovakia, the whole economy was run on the principle of price. A manager in a company calculated the price of steel, plastic, and man-hours to produce one Škoda 120 car, for example.

The wonderful thing about economics is that it recognizes truths about the world that laypeople cannot intuitively grasp, based on simple statements about human action. Consider two concepts: opportunity costs and marginal decision-making based on marginal benefits and costs. If you really understand these two concepts, then it must seem normal to you that there is such a thing as optimal environmental pollution.

What does Donald Trump understand about politics that others don’t? What is the impact of Trump\'s presidency on Europe (and the Polish political scene in particular)? And what should we expect from the forthcoming Polish presidential elections? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Andrzej Bobiński, the Managing Director of Polityka Insight. 

In 2024, Romania will break the 50% government debt limit, becoming the EU country with the largest increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio since the start of the pandemic. High budget deficits - levels of 6-9% of GDP - have pushed Romania\'s debt from 35% in 2019 to 52% in 2024, with a forecast of close to 60% in 2026. In just a few years, Romania will likely have a higher debt than Germany.

The notorious case of a prosecutor who tried to review a court act issued by a judge of the Sofia Regional Court once again raises the question of the functions and status of judges and prosecutors. This issue is of the utmost importance in a country like ours, where the uncontrolled and selective (in the sense of arbitrary) actions of the prosecutor\'s office leave citizens with the impression that prosecutors, not judges, administer justice.

The February issue of the 4liberty.eu Newsletter provides an overview of the articles published on the 4liberty.eu website, serving as a starting point for further exploration.