The Lithuanian Free Market Institute and its partner organisations have published the third annual Employment Flexibility Index which ranks 41 EU and OECD countries by ease of employing people.
According to the 2019 International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI) rankings, Estonia holds the most-competitive position for the sixth year in a row, while France ranks at the bottom of the index.
Libra, the new private digital money system sponsored by Facebook and a consortium of other firms, was announced on 18th June 2019, and officially aims to reduce certain inefficiencies in the remittance industry.
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 to promote European technology giants.
The Epicenter Nanny State Index is a league table of the best and worst places in the European Union to eat, drink, smoke and vape. Finland tops the table as the least free country. Germany is the freest country.
The new EU-Mercosur Agreement only superficially rejects protectionism. As much as it liberalises trade, it also protects European defensive interests and extends the EU’s regulatory influence, to the detriment of Mercosur producers and European consumers.
The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (the “Directive”) is back. The issues with the Directive were described in our September 2018 briefing The Copyright Directive – The EU Battles the Internet.