Out of thirty European countries, sixteen allow retail trade on Sundays, whereas fourteen do not limit retail opening hours on public holidays. The countries which regulate retail trade on Sundays and/or public holidays apply a range of exemptions.
Countries and organizations have often suggested ideas and changes based on the US economic/healthcare or educational system. Even though there are elements which we can learn from and desire to implement, some other parts of that system might seem much less attractive and desirable.
There is no need for Europe to be great again. As a community it is currently the greatest economic power, which to a large extent already dictates the rules of the game on global markets. The only viable response to the ongoing challenges is a closer integration of the EU – to maintain the status of a global leader.
Our progress is already big – for example, you can work almost anywhere in Europe. But we have reached the wall – because we don’t know what foundation, what system we should have. When we do not have solutions, demons wake up.
Estonia, Finland, and the Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel together with Rail Baltic have a potentially important role in the new global connection between Europe and Asia. The Norwegian experts have calculated that the distance between Shanghai and Hamburg is 12 277 nautical miles, a voyage time of 39 days.
Regulation of retail opening hours is applicable in 14 out of 30 European countries. The range of the regulation varies widely across the countries, as evidenced by a variety of exemptions. Yet, the bans fail to achieve their objectives: a number of European countries have gone through deregulation.
On April 19, 2018, the Free Market Road Show visited Warsaw. This year the event took place at SWPS University. The conference began with introductory remarks by Piotr Voelkel (SWPS University), Agata Stremecka (FOR), and Barbara Kolm (Austrian Economics Center).
Dancing gorillas, yodeling Lithuanians on a canon, gypsy music combined with hip-hop – these are just a few productions from the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. For those who don’t follow every single aspect of the contest, the political significance of the event might still be rather interesting.
Be it alcohol, tobacco, or sugary drinks; individuals have a number of vices that they voluntarily engage in. It has been commonly accepted that we attempt to engage in these “vices” with moderation. However, over the past years, public health advocates have made it their mission to regulate people’s lifestyle.
The presented case study provides a review of the rationales behind state ownership and the decisions to establish SOEs and delineates specific implications of these policies. Its main focus are SOEs in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia.
