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 his resignation.
On November 12 at the Valletta Summit on Migration, the focus briefly shifted away from the Syrian refugee crisis and back to the high-risk Mediterranean migration route from the coast of Tunisia to Greece and Italy traveled by thousands Africans earlier this year.
After eight years in power, Civic Platform (PO) lost to the main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), led by former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczynski.
The new edition of Istituto Bruno Leoni’s Index of Liberalizations ranks the UK as the most liberalized country in the EU-15, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The Index surveys a range of sectors, from energy and telecommunications to transport and insurance, ranking each of the EU-15 Member States relative to the one which scores highest.
So‐called “sin” taxes are very much in fashion in France and elsewhere. With the aim of reducing “sinful” behaviour and financing the health care system, public authorities are planning to raise the tax load on alcohol and tobacco even higher.