How Dependency Turns into Rage

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The rampant outbursts of frustration we witness today, at a time when many are faring better than ever, aren’t solely the result of unchecked …

Economic Performance Dashboard

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In an effort to measure the performance of the 27 economies in the European Union over the past five years, the Juan de Mariana …

Facilitating the Future of Work

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The landscape of work is swiftly transforming; it is veering away from traditional employment structures characterised by fixed contracts, physical office setups, and rigid …

Adam Bartha comments in Expresso

Posted by & filed under Media.

The report by Nicolas Marques, Director General of IEM, highlights a deep-seated retirement savings crisis in Europe, particularly in France, where the deficit in …

The XXX Factor

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

The online pornography industry has historically been a pioneer of many innovations that have later influenced the rest of the internet. Among others, the …

Lower Taxes on Tobacco in Sweden

Posted by & filed under Blog.

While Sweden is the only country in the EU where snus is allowed, it is also the country with the lowest smoking prevalence – …

Sweet Tax Temptation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In early October, Slovakia’s interim government unveiled a series of measures aimed at strengthening Slovakia‘s public finances. It included nearly 100 policies, with close …

Adam Bartha comments in Expresso

Posted by & filed under Media.

Following Poland’s 2023 elections, our director, Adam Bartha, commented in Expresso on what Donald Tusk’s return signifies. In it, Adam argued that an opportunity …

A Paradigm Shift in Energy Policy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Is it all just about electrons and molecules? Far from it. Anyone who believes that energy policy is defined by technical boundaries alone is …

Enlargement fatigue?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

‘The future of the Balkans is within the European Union’ – we now know that this statement made after the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 …

Adam Bartha comments in Expresso

Posted by & filed under Media.

Our Director, Adam Bartha, was recently interviewed in Expresso about the EU’s removal of Ukrainian export restrictions amid severe inflation, subsequently revealing challenges in …

A year of interest rate increases

Posted by & filed under Blog.

It has been a year since the first-in-a-decade increase of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) key interest rates.
Throughout the history of the Eurozone, …

Why Singapore’s Healthcare System is Unique

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Singapore’s healthcare system is the most efficient in the world, according to the latest Bloomberg health systems ranking; further, according to the Economist Intelligence …

Implementing tax competition in Spain

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The elimination of the wealth tax by the Regional Government of Andalusia to attract high-income taxpayers triggered different reactions. Some autonomous communities (ACs) decided …

Nuclear power is not the enemy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Concerns over the damage caused by climate change have prompted a global push for increased investments in renewable energy. This has led to a …

Creating an EU ethics culture

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Transparency and accountability are vital pillars of democratic governance. However, the series of scandals that rocked the European Union over the last few years …

Greedflation?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The last three years have brought many old ghosts to Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest health crisis since the Spanish flu, wars …

Adam Bartha comments in Expresso

Posted by & filed under Media.

In his recent comments for Expresso, Adam Bartha, Director of EPICENTER, highlighted the EU’s foolishness trying to compromise with Viktor Orban’s government, despite its …

The Nanny State Index in POLITICO

Posted by & filed under Media.

The 2023 Nanny State Index was featured in Politico’s London Playbook. The section highlighted that Britain has the strictest regulations on tobacco and the …

Chris Snowdon in The Spectator

Posted by & filed under Media.

The editor of the 2023 Nanny State Index, Christopher Snowdon, authored an article in The Spectator discussing the United Kingdom’s ranking in the Index. …

How to solve a problem like inflation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

After three decades of relative price stability, inflation has returned with a vengeance to the world’s advanced economies. The trend began in early 2021, …

Chat GPT vs Italy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The rest of the world is keen to adopt technological innovations, but Italy seems to be stuck in the past.
Italy’s productivity growth has …

Kefim report featured on cnn

Posted by & filed under Media.

EPICENTER member think tank KEFiM’s findings on overtaxation’s impact on citizens’ standard of living were featured in ‘CNN Greece’. The article delved into the …

Cécile phillipe writes in les echos

Posted by & filed under Media.

Cécile Philippe, the president of the Économique Molinari Institute, an EPICENTER member think tank, was featured in Les Echoes Philippe argues that entrepreneurs and …

Martin Pánek featured in Euro

Posted by & filed under Media.

Martin Pánek, the director of the EPICENTER partner, the Liberal Institute, was featured in Euro, a popular Czech news site, expressing his support for …

ies europe on digi24 news

Posted by & filed under Media.

Christian Nasulea, the director of EPICENTER member think tank IES, was featured on a popular Romanian news program called Digi24, where he discussed the …

Dagens Industri features TIMBRO report

Posted by & filed under Media.

EPICENTER member think tank TIMBRO’s report on excessive government market interventions was recently featured in Sweden’s leading daily newspaper, Dagens Industri. The report highlights …

IBL’s inflation briefing in Il foglio

Posted by & filed under Media.

The Istituto Bruno Leoni, an EPICENTER member think tank, recently had their findings featured in ‘Il Foglio’, a popular daily newspaper in Italy. The …

timbro study in dagens nyheter

Posted by & filed under Media.

TIMBRO, an EPICENTER member think tank, recently had their report on the impact of excessive government market interventions on inflationary pressures featured in ‘Dagens …

IEM’s report featured in le figaro

Posted by & filed under Media.

The Institut Économique Molinari, an EPICENTER member think tank, recently had their findings featured in ‘Le Figaro’, one of France’s most popular newspapers. The …

IES europe appears on digi24

Posted by & filed under Media.

Christian Nasulea, the Executive Director of IES Europe, an EPICENTER member think tank, recently made an appearance on Digi24, one of Romania’s most popular …

ies europe appears on digi24

Posted by & filed under Media.

Christian Nasulea, the Executive Director of IES Europe, an EPICENTER member think tank, recently appeared on Digi24, one of Romania’s top news programs. During …

Emission Possible

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

This paper urges EU decision makers to include transportation and buildings into the already existing Emissions Trading System (ETS). The study found that consolidating …

Green Alert

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

This paper urges EU decision makers to avoid entering a tit-for-tat subsidy battle with the Unites States in response to the US Inflation Reduction …

The EU’s Debt Dilemma

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The EU is in an existential debt crisis. This crisis is often overlooked, and if it is not brought under control, it may lead …

The failure of windfall taxes

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The energy sector is in dire need of investments. However, the new government-imposed taxes in Slovakia are instead adding to the financial burden already …

Lessons from the FTX Debacle

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Once again, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being claimed dead. For many observers, the bankruptcy of the Bahamas-based trading platform FTX signals the token …

Poland goes nuclear

Posted by & filed under Blog.

European countries aim to lessen their dependence on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine while pursuing their goal of realising carbon emissions neutrality in …

Let’s brain-drain Russia

Posted by & filed under Blog.

September has not been a good month for Vladimir Putin. It opened with a Ukrainian offensive which broke Russian defences near the eastern city …

EU Gas Security: A supply-side solution

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In early September, Gazprom announced an indefinite shutdown of the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which normally accounts for one-third of Russian gas imports …

Austerity & Tax Reform in Greece

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In response to the debt crisis, the Greek government implemented excessively high tax rates in an attempt to save the country from financial collapse. …

Reducing Red Tape for Polish Businesses

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The standard of living crisis has been exacerbated by rising inflation and regulatory costs that have increased prices for the average consumer. As of …

Nuclear Energy Is Not a Systemic Risk

Posted by & filed under Blog.

President Macron announced in February 2022 that he wanted to ‘restart the construction of nuclear reactors’ with six new reactors after the definitive closure …

Out of Pocket

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications, Research.

This paper examines the tax and regulatory policies fuelling inflation across five European countries. The detailed analysis of high price levels in Germany, Italy, …

LibreMercado Interview with Adam Bartha

Posted by & filed under Media.

Discussing Irene Montero’s recent large spending plan to accommodate inequality in Spain, Adam Bartha weighs in on solutions. Bartha affirms that empty political taglines …

DMA and its security shortfalls

Posted by & filed under Media.

European legislators venture to tackle big tech with the new Digital Markets Act provision. The European Parliament’s diversion from the original text on interoperability …

Interview with Cecile Philippe

Posted by & filed under Media.

Cécile Philippe, President of the IEM, was interviewed on domestic French taxation issues to discussions on what role the EU plays in the French …

Fracking: it’s now or never

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In many states across Europe, fracking is banned due to nimbyism (reluctance to be the site of fracking themselves) and pressure from green groups, …

The Day of Respect for the Taxpayer

Posted by & filed under Blog.

On May 11, Lithuania celebrates The Day of Respect for the Taxpayers. On this occasion, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) stresses that a …

Supporting Ukraine

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Since the war in Ukraine intensified, a strong network of civil society united to help as much on the ground as possible.
Besides donations …

The battle for free societies

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Many classical liberals dedicate their professional lives to making their societies freer, fairer, and more prosperous. We are battling bad ideas that would impoverish …

The cracks in China’s economy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The Chinese real estate giant Evergrande has been a popular topic of conversation in recent weeks. It is not only the company’s liabilities of …

How Spain hurts its youth

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Agenda setting is both important and difficult. Politics tends to veer towards topical issues which are not always the most relevant. Moreover, parties tend …

Changing competences

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research, Research.

The European Union often concludes international trade agreements, which contain shared competences with the Member States (the so-called mixed competences agreements), thus they require …

Deepening the EU-Japan EPA

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The EU and Japan are like-minded: both support a rules-based, open global trade system and share similar values on democracy, freedom of expression and …

GAFAM tax: the hidden truth

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The GAFAM, an acronym for US tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft, are constantly – and wrongly – accused of not paying …

Prospects of a free trade deal with India

Posted by & filed under Blog.

During the summer the EU Council published “A Globally Connected Europe”, in which it outlined its geopolitical strategy towards Asia, intending to deepen its …

CCC podcast on Belarus with our Director

Posted by & filed under Media.

The Consumer Choice Center interviewed our Director for a podcast on the Belarusian sanctions. Adam Bartha praised the EU for implementing further sanctions on …

New Europe features our briefing on DMA

Posted by & filed under Media.

A transatlantic tech partnership would spur collaborations between governments and companies to rebalance the rising Chinese tech industry. With optimal innovation policies, Chinese state-sponsored …

Time to finish fishing subsidies

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Historically the EU has subsidised certain industries, especially those in the agricultural sector. EU fisheries are no exception, with the European Maritime and Fisheries …

The Future of European Democracy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The Conference on the Future of the Europe seeks to tackle the long-criticised ‘democratic deficit’ of the European Union with its emphasis on citizen …

The shadow value of personal data

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Last month, civil society and regulators celebrated World Consumer Rights Day, an occasion to mark the rights of consumers. This year, the date took …

Nanny State Index Launch

Posted by & filed under Selected Past Event.

European governments are becoming increasingly paternalistic in the way they regulate the lifestyle choices of their citizens. The Nanny State Index – which ranks …

Who ends up paying taxes?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Tax shifts are widespread – often at the expense of the consumer – but governments do not always seem to be aware of the …

Towards a new fiscal policy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In February, the Bank of Spain published its statistics on the Spanish public debt, indicating that state liabilities reached 117.08% of GDP at the …

AI Creations: Legally Protected?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Imagine you just purchased a painting from Sotheby’s called Portrait of Edmond Belamy (“Portrait”) for $432,500. Portrait was AI-generated. Your neighbour Jim takes a …

Debating Democracy

Posted by & filed under Selected Past Event.

Protecting equal democratic rights across all sections of society, irrespective of one’s ethnicity, gender or wealth is a cornerstone of liberal democracies – and …

Vaping’s image problem

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

Surveys suggest that public understanding of the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes has become divorced from the scientific evidence. A Eurobarometer survey conducted in …

Harm Reduction or Humbug?

Posted by & filed under Selected Past Event.

The European Commission has recently launched several initiatives that will make safer nicotine products less appealing to smokers. The Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, …

Enough of the “coronfirmation bias”

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Last spring, my colleague Chris Snowdon compiled an amusing Twitter thread highlighting examples of commentators and activists who were using the pandemic as a new excuse …

WHO is your nanny?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Some countries allow you to buy a beer at any time day or night. Others have total prohibition. The enormous differences in the way …

A step in the wrong direction

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In September the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs held a debate on the New Pact on Asylum and Migration. …

Minimum Wage Wars in Europe

Posted by & filed under Blog.

At the end of October, the European Commission proposed a Directive to introduce adequate minimum wages across the EU. Although the end objective is …

Credit Day 2020

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

This year Credit Day for the European Union falls on the 17th of December. This is the day which, on average, EU member states …

The best choice for the US economy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The American presidential election was really about choosing the lesser of two evils. The combination of Biden as president and a Republican majority in …

Is GAIA-X doomed to fail?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

As we are nearing the end of the German presidency of the Council of the EU, it is time to assess the term’s projects …

Free Trade is a Human Right

Posted by & filed under Blog.

As Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States, international trade will be the center of attention again. Joe Biden is not …

Towards a more autonomous EU

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The European Council President Charles Michel envisions a more “autonomous” (i.e. economically self-sufficient) EU. However, this pursuit of economic independence, under the guise of …

Lessons from Estonia

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Like other issues, taxes are one of those policy areas where the differences between EU member states are greater than the commonalities. The International …

Global supply chains in a post-COVID world

Posted by & filed under Blog.

COVID-19 has caused huge disruptions to global trade and supply chains, both directly and indirectly (as a result of policy responses: lockdowns, social distancing …

Rejecting Mercosur would be a lose-lose

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Nearly a month ago, “Fridays for Future” speaker Luisa Neubauer met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to Neubauer, Merkel assured her that she …

Trade wars & digital taxation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

A digital services taxation framework within the EU has been discussed widely over the course of the last two years, with the State of …

Netherland’s crackdown on e-cigarettes

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The Netherlands is on the brink of introducing plain packaging for e-cigarettes. The only other country to have gone down that path is Israel. Not many …

A German Climate Presidency

Posted by & filed under Blog.

On the 1st of July, Germany took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. This presidency came at an important time …

You Had One Job

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Public Health England (PHE) have been widely criticised for their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Serious questions have …

Chinese Puzzle

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

Covid–19 is provoking a major reorientation of the foreign policy of the US and Europe. At the heart of this is their changing relationship …

The rise of power politics

Posted by & filed under Blog.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only led to a health and economic crisis across Europe, but also a political one. Political leaders …

Food Security in the wake of Covid-19

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Global food supply chains have been disrupted by restrictions on movement, and rising food protectionism has threatened access to food and its affordability. Emerging …

Polish Minority Rights and the EU

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Polish president, Andrzej Duda, and his close political ally, the Law and Justice Party, PiS, have not been shy of controversies during this last …

An Open Letter on the EU Budget

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The negotiations on the European Union’s multi-annual financial perspective for 2021-2027 are underway. The European Commission’s recently updated budget proposal with suggested measures regarding …

How will Covid-19 affect global trade?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In April, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) published its latest trade forecast predicting global trade in goods would fall by between 13% and 32% in 2020 …

Do low emissions zones really work?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

At the moment, the general sense of alarm caused by the supposed consequences of climate change is something that is shared by all Western …

The future of Artificial Intelligence

Posted by & filed under Briefings.

In February the Commission published the White Paper On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust. It includes some interesting proposals …

Coronabonds are not necessary

Posted by & filed under Blog.

To overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the European Central Bank is considering pooling debt issuances among the countries of the Eurozone in what has recently …

COVID-19: WHO to blame?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

 
Much of the WHO rhetoric on COVID-19 has treated the pandemic as an unavoidable, natural disaster devoid of blame – this is …

The Oil Price War

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In tandem with the stock market crash, following persisting negative news regarding the coronavirus, oil prices have drastically dropped. The current demand for oil …

Coronabonds offer the wrong path

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The German newspaper ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ published an open letter by well-known artists about an initiative to issue Coronabonds in order to share the burden …

Spanish lessons from the pandemic

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is by no means over, in Spain we can already start to learn some lessons that will ensure the same …

France’s quest for European tech leadership

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Despite being a fierce supporter of pro-Europeanism and market liberalisation in the past, Emmanuel Macron’s plans for European-wide protectionism has been relatively unsuccessful. Early …

5G and Huawei’s impact on trade tensions

Posted by & filed under Blog.

With increased security risks concerning Huawei’s ties with the Chinese state and the firm’s planned rollout of 5G across Europe, the European Commission appears …

Foreign Policy: Should the EU have one?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

To start off the year, President Donald Trump approved a co-ordinated drone strike which resulted in the death of Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani. As …

A new chapter between the EU and Vietnam

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In 2019, the European Commission agreed a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Vietnam, which was ratified by the European Parliament earlier this week. …

Worst practices in reducing CO2

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The Slovak government has been providing subsidies for electric cars. However, if it had bought emission permits instead and thrown them on the fire, …

Climate Crises: The myth of eco refugees

Posted by & filed under Blog.

On 2nd December 2019, delegations from the United Nations convened in Madrid for COP25, the 25th annual Climate Change Conference. They gathered to discuss …

Evaluating the Africa-EU Partnership

Posted by & filed under Blog.

European companies, especially in the construction sector, have long complained that Chinese official credit lines make them less competitive by comparison in African countries. …

Agricultural innovation over intervention

Posted by & filed under Blog.

There is reason to believe that population growth, natural resource scarcity and climate change will challenge agriculture to deliver food security in the coming …

Nanny State On Tour

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

This study calculates how much UK foreign aid was spent (in 2018 prices) on lifestyle interventions targeting smoking, drinking, eating and sedentary behaviour.UK taxpayers …

Time To Liberate Libra?

Posted by & filed under Briefings.

Libra, the new private digital money system sponsored by Facebook and a consortium of other firms, was announced on 18th June 2019, and officially …

Exporting Development Blueprints

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The European Union’s budget for foreign aid for the 2014-2020 period is of €82 billion on. As part of a new humanitarian aid package, …

Predatory Pricing or Predatory Laws?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The European Commission has fined in July telecommunications multinational Qualcomm with €242 million as it condemns them for selling chipsets “below cost” and therefore …

The Problem with European Champions

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Free market liberals will have shuddered at the news that European Commission officials have drawn up far-reaching plans for a new €100 billion fund …

Give Libra a Chance

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In July 2019, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors met for a two-day conference in Chantilly, in Paris’ north. Under consideration was Libra, …

Flightless Birds

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The Dutch government has recently drafted a bill in order to “charge consumers and businesses for environmentally polluting behaviors”– seeking to implement a €7 …

EU’s zero-sum carbon game

Posted by & filed under Blog.

More than three years since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, most of the EU member states are on board for the newly …

A Marshall Plan for the Media?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Media pluralism in Europe is under threat. Far from exhibiting a rich diversity of opinions, content, ownership and structures, Europe’s media sector faces considerable …

Connected Cars and the EU

Posted by & filed under Blog.

A motorist in the average European state spends 29 hours a year stuck in traffic. This is a waste, costing drivers in the EU …

Corrupting CAP

Posted by & filed under Blog.

A tale of corruption, political scandals, and even murder: the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has turned agriculture in Europe into an environmentally unsustainable, …

Trade and the populist upheaval

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In the recent European elections, authoritarian populist parties, gained a great number of seats (almost 24% of the total) in the European Parliament (EP). …

Free trade? Merco-sure!

Posted by & filed under Blog.

For almost 20 years, EU negotiations with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, have been a great challenge. Mercosur’s economic and political issues, French …

Reshaping Eurasian relations

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The European Commission has recently begun the process of rekindling the EU’s relationship with Central Asia, located at the crossroads between the Middle East, …

Corporate Takeovers and National Champions

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In April, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the proposed £7Bn merger of supermarket chains ASDA and Sainsbury’s. This decision came shortly …

Nanny State Index

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

Germany has overtaken the Czech Republic to become the EU’s most liberal country, according to the 2019 edition of the Nanny State Index. Finland …

Opening up the Atlantic

Posted by & filed under Blog.

This week, the European Council approved mandates for the European Commission to open negotiations with the United States on two trade agreements.  First, an …

Will 5G come to the EU?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

It has been almost two years since GDPR entered into force. Data monitoring has become a regulatory headache for several industries and could soon …

The future of EU and Africa relations

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Increasing globalisation has had many effects on international trade, and Africa is no exception. In Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, economic growth increased to 3.1% …

Macron’s malaise

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Macron is right: Brussels cannot continue with business as usual after the European Parliament elections. In his recent open letter to the citizens of Europe, …

Populists versus speed-bumps

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In 2017 the Cambridge Dictionary proclaimed “populism” the word of the year. This phrase is defined in many ways and arouses great emotions. One …

Blue card lottery

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Ahead of the European elections, migration remains one of the main challenges facing the EU. Populist and Eurosceptic movements have sought political capital from …

The future of Europe is Dutch

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Brexit has caused some turbulent political times in Westminster, but the hole left by the UK in Brussels will be felt throughout the continent.

Web of Gazprom: Will Europe escape?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Disputes between Russian Gas powerhouse Gazprom and Ukraine’s national gas company Naftogaz have sparked a firestorm of political and economic debate. The “biggest commercial …

Liberal White Smoke in Spain

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The National Convention of the People’s Party (PP) which took place earlier this month may well become a turning point in the economic landscape. …

CAP Subsidies Harm the Environment

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Environmental degradation is a regular by-product of agricultural practices. Greenhouse gases, mass irrigation, water quality issues, and disrupted ecosystems are all examples of side …

The populist hurricane

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Over the last two years, the forces of populism have swept through Europe like a hurricane, wreaking havoc on the post-WW2 consensus, and ideals of international co-operation. …

Ageing Europe

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Even though the ageing of the European population is not a new phenomenon, its potential effect on European Welfare systems is often under-estimated. According …

The Price Women Pay

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Political classes on both sides of the Channel were waiting patiently for the end of the EU Parliament’s recess, and for Brexit negotiations to …

State-Enforced Universal Chargers

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Picture yourself at a friend’s house. Your Samsung phone buzzes, alerting you to low battery, but you’ve left your charger at home. You ask …

Should we sanction sanctions?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In recent years, Russia has been a prime target of economic sanctions – a longtime tactic in relations between Russia and the West. In …

Spain’s economic revival

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Is Spain due to become a more influential power within the European Union? The country is expected to become a net contributor to the …

Vestager vs Google

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The European Commission decision in the Google Android case illustrates the difference in approach to antitrust issues between the US and EU.  It also …

Better regulation conference

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

25 September 2018
The Better Regulation Conference aims at addressing in an open way one of the most pressing issues of our time: the …

Greek think tank KEFiM joins EPICENTER

Posted by & filed under Blog.

EPICENTER is proud to announce that KEFiM, one of the fastest growing and most respected liberal, free market think tanks of Europe joined our network today. …

Flexicurity in the XXI. century

Posted by & filed under Blog.

 
As the world is undergoing a third industrial revolution with the field of computer science rapidly expanding, one aspect of the labour …

Offshore bet

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

The popular account of offshore financial centres as hotbeds of tax evasion is an outdated caricature that bears little resemblance to how OFCs operate. …

Nanny State Index Conference 2018

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

19 June 2018
The European Parliament edition of our Nanny State Index will be released alongside a great discussion with MEPs, industry representatives and …

What have the Swiss ever done for us?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

This article was first published under the title “Danke, Schweiz” in the Basler Zeitung, a Swiss daily newspaper. Translation by the author.
Classical liberal …

Robocalypse Now?

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

It is claimed that robots, algorithms and artificial intelligence are going to destroy jobs on an unprecedented scale. These developments, unlike past bouts of technical …

Economic Freedom Summit

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

11-12 April 2018
What makes countries and citizens prosper? How can we ensure economic growth, without living at the expense of future generations? What …

Every promise is debt

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Every euro of new debt today is a euro that is going to be paid by Italians through higher taxation, tomorrow. Until 4 March …

How to reform a broken taxi market?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

High prices, long waiting times, dirty money and drivers at risk of being subjected to violence. These are some of the problems that have …

Poland on Orbán’s Lap

Posted by & filed under Blog.

It is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who is to defend the Law and Justice (PiS) government against the consequences of violations of the …

Brexit as it might have been

Posted by & filed under Blog.

I recently had the opportunity to take a look into a parallel universe, because [insert clever-sounding, scientifically pseudo-literate explanation here]. It was identical to …

Statutory regulation vs private regulation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The EU’s second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) came into force earlier this month. According to the European Securities and Markets Authority …

Super Index 2017

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

According the latest IBL Super Index, Italy is the sick man of Europe. Despite relatively rosy macroeconomic projections for the whole EU, the gap …

INNOV8 2017

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

21 November
INNOV8 is a conference for EU-decision makers, innovative companies, and start-ups to meet and explore ways how Europe can become the leading …

Growing Strength of Populists

Posted by & filed under Blog.

For the second time, the Swedish think tank Timbro has presented its “Authoritarian Populism Index”. The index “aims to shed light on whether populism …

Who’s afraid of free trade?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Two reports published in the last few days have advocated the benefits of free trade. You might have expected them to be well received …

Who's afraid of free trade?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Two reports published in the last few days have advocated the benefits of free trade. You might have expected them to be well received …

Trump & Trade

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

7th September 2017
Senator Chris Steineger, Kansas State Senator will be hosted by Christofer Fjellner MEP to discuss US-EU relations under a Trump Presidency. …

Sweden and its inconsistent alcohol laws

Posted by & filed under Blog.

On 29 June, EPICENTER’s Swedish partner, Timbro, published a report examining alcohol laws in Sweden. Within the Swedish political arena, alcohol consumption has always …

Cyber Security: What’s next?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In a world where the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) permeates every aspect of our daily life, the threat of cyber-attacks …

A Helvetic Idea of Freedom

Posted by & filed under Blog.

«Instead of conceding itself to a large sovereign decision-maker, Switzerland has preferred to remain a free international negotiator» argues Dr Carlo Lottieri, Director at …

Germany’s battle against fake news

Posted by & filed under Blog.

The German elections are just around the corner and a new anti-fake news bill, Netwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG), was passed by the Bundestag on 30 June …

Populism Index 2017

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

Auktoritär populism har övertagit liberalismens plats som den tredje ideologiska kraften i europeisk politik.
Väljarstödet för populistiska partier ligger kvar på rekordhöga nivåer men …

Spanish Tax Freedom Day

Posted by & filed under Publications.

In 2017, the average Spaniard will have worked 178 days in order to fulfill their tax obligations. In other words, Tax Freedom Day, calculated …

Superindex

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

According to the latest IBL Super Index, the degree of internal divergence within Eurozone countries keeps increasing. This means that the gap between Eurozone …

Global Value Chains and EU trade policy

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Earlier this year, the EU’s Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström spoke in Brussels about the various challenges facing EU trade policy in 2017. Talking Trump, …

Is the EU growing or getting fat?

Posted by & filed under Blog.

By maintaining the imbalances of the decade of excess we are missing the opportunity to prepare for the future. The economic sentiment index in the Eurozone …

Nanny State Index

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

The EPICENTER Nanny State Index is the only comprehensive league table of lifestyle regulations. The latest data suggest that the EU is becoming a …

EU-Australia Free Trade Deal

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Earlier this month, a phone-call between EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malström, and the Australian Trade Minister, Steven Ciobo, concluded a year-long scoping exercise on …

The 2017 Spanish General State Budget

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Last week, EPICENTER’s Spanish partner, CIVISMO, published a report about the Spanish General State Budget.
 
The 2017 General State Budget, presented on April …

Education 4.0

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

Current schooling systems are badly equipped to deal with rapid technological innovation and changing work patterns such as the sharing economy and the rise …

Obesity and the Public Purse

Posted by & filed under Publications.

This is the first study to estimate the annual savings that overweight and obese people bring UK taxpayers by dying prematurely (in 2016 prices). …

Brexit: Why time won’t tell

Posted by & filed under Blog.

My track record on Brexit-related predictions has so far been abysmal. I got it wrong at every turn.
 
For a start, I was …

Mercantilist arguments in the Union

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Over the last few years, prominent economists, think tanks and business newspapers have come to the consensus that Germany’s trade surplus is a problem …

Inflation and the ECB: a political problem

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Mario Draghi´s latest comments expressing his support for continuing the European Central Bank´s Quantitative Easing drew much controversy from northern Eurozone countries, especially Germany, …

How immigration makes us richer

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Over the last few years, European politics has been profoundly shaken by the emergence of nationalist and populist parties. The rise of anti-immigration rhetoric, …

Rethinking financial regulation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Since Donald Trump’s election, US bank stocks have risen around 24 percent. Moreover, UK bank stocks have reached 6-month highs in January, albeit tempered …

Free to Move

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

People greatly overestimate the immigrant share of the population and many wrongly believe that openness to migration harms Britons’ job prospects, burdens public finances …

European Superindex

Posted by & filed under Blog.

It has been one year and a half since Professor Nicola Rossi and I started the Superindex at Istituto Bruno Leoni.
 
The Superindex …

The spectre of another lost decade

Posted by & filed under Blog.

On Sunday night, following a shock negative result in a referendum on the constitutional reform he had championed, Matteo Renzi, Italy’s Prime Minister, announced …

Hire Authority

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

In recent years, smartphone-enabled applications such as Uber have gone a long way to resolve the market imperfections which gave rise to taxi regulation …

Living on credit

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

November 30 marks Credit Day across the European Union. Credit Day is the day when member states’ central administrations exhaust their annual tax revenues …

Last call for TTIP

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is currently in a negotiatory limbo. Even though the European Commission has estimated such an agreement would …

Bruno Leoni Annual Gala Dinner

Posted by & filed under Blog, News.

Istituto Bruno Leoni celebrated its annual gala dinner earlier this November. These are challenging times for free-market ideas. However, taking a long-term view, the …

Give the people what they want

Posted by & filed under Blog.

In a previous post, entitled “The changing narrative of the Euro crisis”, Diego Zuluaga argued that, while Eurozone reform was justified, European policymakers “should …

Tariffs & domestic consumers

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Repeat after me: tariffs primarily hurt domestic consumers – not foreign exporters
 
Tariffs primarily hurt the consumers of the country imposing them on …

Ageing Europe: A Mixed Blessing

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Pension Systems and Politicians’ Temptations
 
It is common knowledge that Europeans are in their best physical shape ever. On average, in the European …

Innovation in Agriculture

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

The Common Agricultural Policy
Population growth, natural resource scarcity and climate change will challenge agriculture to deliver food security in the coming decades. Innovative …

Ploughing the Wrong Furrow

Posted by & filed under Home Research, Publications.

The precautionary principle provides non-farming interest groups with a pseudo-official means of influencing policy. The result is a drift towards overregulation and regulatory failures …

INNOV8 Conference

Posted by & filed under Past Event.

18th October 2016
INNOV8, our conference about innovation in various fields from science & tech to agriculture, took place in Brussels and provided a …

The changing narrative of the euro crisis

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 05.10.2016
When the eurozone debt crisis broke out in late 2009, there was considerable agreement among policymakers that budgetary prudence and …

The fight of a generation – literally

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 21.09.2016
 
Economic debates are often presented as a contest between two opposing interest groups. Marxian socialism pitted capital against labour. …

Europe’s demographic timebomb

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Philip Booth // 16.09.2016
This article is based on a presentation Prof Booth gave at the Autumn University of the Alliance of European Conservatives …

Death by infrastructure spending

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 13.09.2016
 
Infrastructure investment is often presented by policymakers as a silver bullet in times of recession or sluggish growth. Public …

Help! Keynes is back!

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Nathalie Janson // 19.07.2016
 
Since early 2016, with the return of market turbulence and uncertainty over global growth, discreet calls for expansionary monetary …

Freedom prevails in Spain, for now

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Sanchez de la Cruz // 27.06.2016
Spain’s center-right has clearly advanced its electoral position with last Sunday’s General Election. Polls predicted a good …

Blazing Trails in a Post-Brexit Europe

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 22.06.2016
Tomorrow, the British electorate will decide on a question which, more than any other, has divided voters and the political …

The IMF gets it wrong on 'neoliberalism'

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 03.06.2016
An article from the IMF’s magazine, entitled ‘Neoliberalism: Oversold?’, has been making the rounds on social media. This is not …

Flat tax and income inequality

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Zilvinas Silenas // 01.06.2016
Piketty’s publication has reignited the debate over taxation. Proponents of higher taxation seized the opportunity to increase taxes. Even some …

The Swedish Gender Equality Paradox

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Karin Svanborg Sjövall and Nima Sanandaji // 19.05.2016
The Swedish gender equality discussion is characterized by a remarkable paradox. While Sweden, along with the …

Pricking the balloon on Eurozone deflation

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 18.05.2016
As growth rates in the Eurozone gather steam, policymakers’ concerns are increasingly shifting to low inflation. According to Eurostat, consumer …

TTIP: a pre-mortem

Posted by & filed under Briefings, Home Research.

11 May 2016
To say that negotiations for an EU-U.S. trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), have lost momentum since they …

TTIP: a pre-mortem

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 11.05.2016
To say that negotiations for an EU-U.S. trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), have lost momentum since …

Austerity: A User’s Manual

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Paolo Belardinelli // 29.03.2016
The mayhem in financial markets we have observed in the last few months gave renewed prominence to the issue of …

Hayek would have voted to remain

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 17.03.2016
To conjecture what Hayek’s stance might have been on Britain’s EU referendum and the current state of the European project …

How Italy is doing, without the romance

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Giacomo Lev Mannheimer // 03.02.2016
The founder of Public Choice theory, Nobel Laureate James Buchanan, called it “politics without romance”. Buchanan wanted to show …

The French State of Emergency

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Greta Gietz // 28.01.2016
With the migrant crisis preoccupying Europe’s media and public debates, France’s “economic and social emergency” is easily forgotten.
France reported …

Portugal at the crossroads

Posted by & filed under Blog.

André Azevedo Alves // 18.11.2015
The Portuguese parliamentary election that took place on 4th October delivered a result that very few would have anticipated …

EPICENTER at 1

Posted by & filed under Blog.

Diego Zuluaga // 16.10.15
This week marks the first anniversary of EPICENTER. On 14th and 15th October 2014 we launched this initiative in Brussels …

Think economic conference2

Posted by & filed under News.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In eu eros nulla. Suspendisse massa odio, laoreet et tellus et, tempor molestie purus. In hac …

Think economic conference

Posted by & filed under News.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In eu eros nulla. Suspendisse massa odio, laoreet et tellus et, tempor molestie purus. In hac …

Think economic conference2

Posted by & filed under News.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In eu eros nulla. Suspendisse massa odio, laoreet et tellus et, tempor molestie purus. In hac …

Think economic conference

Posted by & filed under News.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In eu eros nulla. Suspendisse massa odio, laoreet et tellus et, tempor molestie purus. In hac …

“Unbundling” search engines

Posted by & filed under Briefings.

26 November 2014
 
Given the lack of evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the search engine market, action by the European Commission is unjustified. …

"Unbundling" search engines

Posted by & filed under Briefings.

26 November 2014
 
Given the lack of evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the search engine market, action by the European Commission is unjustified. …

Taxation and the Digital Economy

Posted by & filed under Briefings.

Massimiliano Trovato, October 2014
 
It is widely acknowledged that Europe lags behind when it comes to digital entrepreneurship. The largest players in the …

The energy bubble

Posted by & filed under Publications.

 
Julio Pomes, Civismo, March 2014
 
It is regrettable that, as the United States achieves energy independence, Europe still lacks a strategy to …

Enemies of Free Trade

Posted by & filed under Publications.

 
Francisco Cabrillo, Civismo, February 2014
 
The combination of ideological prejudice and direct economic interests may yet do a great deal of harm …

The Shadow Economy

Posted by & filed under Publications.

 
Friedrich Schneider and Colin Williams, IEA, June 2013
 
Measurement of the shadow economy is notoriously difficult as it requires estimation of economic …