reform

In mid-May, opposition MPs in Slovakia submitted a bill on healthcare fees to parliament. A few days later came a signal from the ministry that it was preparing changes to so-called \"supplementary office hours\" – likely connected to the same issue.

In general, no tax should be considered in isolation, which is why the taxation of individuals\' income must be aligned with the taxation of companies\' income, i.e., corporate tax. Put most simply, the system should tax similar activities and income in the same way, rather than allowing arbitrage/tax avoidance based solely on legal form.

More than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian businesses continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Yet, the results of the latest New Monthly Enterprises Survey (NRES), conducted by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) in May 2026, suggest that signs of a slower economic recovery are becoming increasingly visible.

An institution is never only a norm. It is also the extent to which people are willing to treat that norm as binding — and the methods they reach for when they are not.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) warns that, after the recent tax reform, Lithuanian businesses are facing another major regulatory challenge — the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive.

According to the Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World report, Ukraine has once again found itself in the group of the least economically free countries in the world. Ukraine is currently ranked 143rd among 165 countries and territories, a slight improvement from the previous 150th place.

I recently attended a discussion on Europe’s competitiveness. There was unanimous agreement that we are lagging behind in all applied technologies—perhaps with the sole exception of the pharmaceutical industry. The reflexive response from the participants was: “We’ve created a fund for that.” Too few startups? Create a startup fund.Weak AI performance? An AI innovation fund!

The European Union finds itself in a paradoxical situation. The population is ageing, the economy is stagnating, and at the same time, vast sums of citizens\' savings are lying idle in bank deposits. According to the European Commission, 31% of Europeans\' savings are unused in bank accounts. In contrast, Americans put their money to work much more efficiently, keeping three times less cash under the mattress.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s and Minister Andrzej Domański’s speech at the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) has generated significant attention in the media. Using bold historical comparisons, the Prime Minister presented a bright vision of Poland surpassing Western countries in living standards. The key to achieving this goal, he argued, lies in investment.

In recent years, deregulation reforms have become a key step in many European countries toward simplifying rules and improving administrative efficiency. As a result, citizens and entrepreneurs have gained easier access to public services, and markets have become more business-friendly. But which specific reforms have delivered the best results — and how can other European nations benefit from their neighbors’ experiences?