bureaucracy

It is true that the role of career public officials in resisting authoritarian state capture is not properly appreciated. As Kisilowski points out, for the far-right, the “deep state” of liberal professional bureaucracy is frequently viewed as a prime opponent of the authoritarian agenda.

The second package to reduce the administrative burden on business in Slovakia has recently been approved. The first one was approved by the Parliament back in July 2020. It contained 115 measures. Back then, Ministry of Economy invited the public to send in further suggestions.

The Lithuanian government seems to have a clear vision and arguments about how we should move towards the green economy. More importantly, everyone is invested in making an actual change happen. Increased public awareness is already impacting our habits and behaviors.

Unfortunately, we will not celebrate the fifth year of the Bureaucracy Index in the Czech Republic with a reduction in the administrative burden. The bureaucratic burden on small businesses increased by 49 hours year-on-year to 272 hours.

The Slovak agricultural sector suffers from several problems that hinder the competitiveness of farmers: complicated land ownership, due to which (young) farmers cannot access fields, an unpredictable business environment and bureaucracy and, last but not least, lack of investment in capital equipment.

The administrative burden has decreased by one working day or 8 hours compared to last year, shows the 2019 Bureaucracy Index published by the Institute of Economic and Social Studies in cooperation with the Lithuanian Free Market Institute.

Bureaucracy is still a burden for both entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. One of the reasons why the political “fight” has not achieved remarkable success in fighting the red tape, is a missing connection between politics and the everyday life of entrepreneurs.

In Slovakia, one of the least popular offices is the Police Traffic Inspectorate, and, more specifically, the Vehicle Registration Department. Yes, you read it correctly – Slovakia is one of three countries in EU28 where the vehicle registry agenda is fully run by the police.

Truth be told, the Doing Business report has lost a significant part of its explanatory power, at least for countries in transition, due to political economy of reforms and disregard of the level of rule of law.

The new Slovak government was elected in the spring of 20162. Fundamental commitments regarding improvements of the business environment appeared also in Government Manifesto announced in April 2016.