During the recent years the EU has been trying, via regulations of the EU Commission, to prevent people from consuming harmful food. The EU Commission thus produces legislation regulating food market and many of them, such as extensive law regulating gummy bears or the legislation stating “proper” shape of cucumber are nowadays taken by citizens more as jokes, though some of them still exist. While regulating, it imposes huge costs on firms, although those who…
Is destabilization of the EU really the only alternative? German constitutional court takes its time. The state won’t allow any competition in manipulating interest rates. Many Spaniards have put all the eggs in one basket, which is currently hitting the ground. When Silvio is talking, rating agencies are listening. New chairman of the Council for Budget Responsibility and former governor of the National Bank of Slovakia Ivan Šramko claims that there is no alternative for…
The National Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) is financed by tax-payers money and it should extend the range of publicly available statistical data:
On July 3, the Institute for Мarket Еconomics (IME) presented its analysis on the condition of “Bulgarian Posts” in the context of liberalization of postal services in the EU and Bulgaria. The round table took place at the “Sofia” hall of Grand Hotel “Sofia”. Amongst the participants there were representatives of: The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (MEET); Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications (MTITC); “Bulgarian Posts”; the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) and…
Who wants to be Minister of Finance of Greece should report to the director. Everyone in ECB was following football, players used as a collateral were playing. Will ESM turn into European zombie banks hedge fund? Will ESM run out of resources even before it is set up? Troika still hasn’t gone to Greece to assess the situation there. Local leaders are affected by health problems – both Prime Minister and Minister of Finance were…
In March 2010, when the Greek debt crisis was heating up, then-ECB president Jean Claude Trichet declared to the EU parliament that the “monetary Union in Europe is far more than a monetary arrangement. It is a union of shared destiny”. Less than two months later the ECB reversed its refusal to monetize debt and openly started buying government bonds in violation of its own charta. Germany also gave up its reservations about bailing out…
Two years ago, here in Wrocław [at Wrocław Global Forum], you called United States and Europe “G2 of the world” and today you referred to them as “catamaran on stormy waters”, so I was wondering if you think that we can observe serious, permanent shift of power in contemporary world or just this storm that is going to pass? Well, I hope it’s a storm that is going to pass and I hope that we…
Will Germany open its arms to the call from new French leader Francois Hollande for growth supporting measures instead of pure austerity imposed by the Sarkozy-Merkel duo? That was the key question at the European Union summit held in Brussels last week. Taking a decisive step in ramping up the European effort for containing for the ongoing debt crisis could not be expected. The issue of European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the €700 billion rescue fund…
About the Greeks beating German-looking pensioners and Greek members of parliament playing black metal, while Merkel is happy to gamble with their lives. About fiscal pact, which is good in one country and bad in another one, about reducing debt with the help of magic and about American budgetary hockey game, which ended 99:0. After 3 000 years Greeks have improved the art of drama to the level of perfection. After practically nobody happened to agree…
On March 2, EU-25 leaders signed the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, commonly called the Fiscal Compact. The Treaty was not signed by the Czech Republic and Great Britain. Lithuania joined the treaty, but it still needs to be ratified by the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas). Not being a member of the eurozone, Lithuania would be able to choose, which particular provisions of the treaty to commit to. However,…
