Why Activism? [PODCAST]
In this episode, we talk about activism, the French society, social changes in Europe, and public participation.
Articles
Poor Smoker: Tobacco Taxation in Slovakia
The need to consolidate public budgets is perhaps already evident, even to those political parties that have long perceived resources as limitless and freely available. Investors worldwide eagerly await opportunities to lend to debt-ridden Slovakia. Consolidation plans are beginning to emerge, the Financial Policy Institute at the Ministry of Finance has published the impact of austerity and tax measures on GDP.
4liberty.eu N E W S L E T T E R [JULY-AUGUST 2023]
The Summer 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.
Election Shamans
Do you also feel that communication is somehow getting faster and easier for us before national election? Statuses, clickbait headlines, short Tik-Tok videos, captions on Instagram photos. If you do not condense the information into three words, do not even bother saying anything. Okay, maybe my age and nostalgia are writing this out of me and it has always been this way, just by analog means. But what I see, even without nostalgia, is the decline of electoral agendas.
Expensive New Medications vs Expensive Old Medications
Recently publicized case of a child who was not reimbursed by his health insurance company for a requested medicine illustrates the broken world of medicine. Lots of regulations and little market is supposed to protect patients, but it often works exactly the opposite. A three-year-old boy from Slovakia suffers from Dravet syndrome, a severe form of congenital epilepsy characterized by dozens of seizures each day.
Looking Beyond Bulgaria: Fiscal Stability of the Baltic States
In recent months, the topic of budget deficits has taken center stage in heated debates among economists and politicians, garnering significant attention in the media. In April, the caretaker government proposed a budget with a notable deficit of 6.1% of GDP for 2023. In June, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev proposed a new budget with a negative balance of 3%, which is right at the limit for fiscal stability as set in the Maastricht criteria of the European Commission.
Recovery Plan And Resilience Is Faltering in Bulgaria, And With It, The Reforms
The new government was elected already in June, but it remains to be seen how it will begin to solve the pressing problems caused by the lack of regular governance in the months before. The budget is one such priority, but let’s not forget what happened with the National Recovery and Resilience plan (NRRP). Let’s recall – the plan was adopted two years ago with a significant delay, which was the reason why Bulgaria failed to receive an advance payment for its implementation.
How German Policies Were Transformed by Russian Invasion of Ukraine [PODCAST]
In this episode, we talk about German strategy towards the war in Ukraine, a shift in the defense policy, the future of EU enlargement and strategic autonomy, and how Germans perceive Zeitenwende.
Deflation Has Come To Bulgaria, But How Long Will It Last?
Already in May, the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria announced long-awaited news: on a monthly basis, the general consumer price index recorded a decline for the first time since the beginning of the war, and in June, this trend continued, even more noticeably. This has also been accompanied by a cooling down of the annual price change, which has fallen well below its peak since autumn 2022.
For The Last Three Years, Bulgarians Have Lost Three Years of Their Lives
New data from Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute (NSI) shows that for the time period 2020-2022, the life expectancy of the population on average is 71.9 years. The data examines mortality over three-year periods and for the first time, it comprehensively covers the rapid spread and high mortality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria.
