On Wednesday, England lost its semi-final World Cup game against Croatia. Reason enough for those obsessed by Brexit, and having lost the argument in 2016, to get out and moralise based on a sport. It doesn’t take much reading to understand how the question of “why do they hate us” answers itself.
The European Council has adopted draft conclusions regarding the marketing of so-called “junk food” products, in which it calls for restrictions on advertisement, in an effort to protect children. The targets are foods high in energy, saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, sugar and salt.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared in a hearing in the European Parliament. EU legislators wanted to re-create a similar situation than the hearing conducted in the U.S Congress. Once again, Zuckerberg found himself at a public trial, being used for the self-aggrandisement of politicians. Why does nobody appreciate the value created by Silicon Valley […]
French president Emmanuel Macron had to endure significant criticism this week for implying that French welfare expenditure is “insane.” Instead of going after him for telling the truth, French people should hold Macron accountable for the fact that he is doing nothing to end it.
In my first article for this blog, which happened to be republished from a column of mine for the Foundation for Economic Education, I asked what “European values” are supposed to be, and who gets to determine them. In the year leading up to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, this question is […]
When we think about people in the public eye we should thank, we think of figures such as Mother Teresa (we’ll let Christopher Hitchens spin in his grave at this mention) or Princess Diana, who virtuously stood out because of their charity work. However, it is demonstrably true that the people who create the technology […]
In a new report, the World Health Organization fails to endorse higher taxes on sugar in order to fight noncommunicable diseases. For the last two years, the U.N. body has been calling for even higher sugar taxes, which would lead to reduced consumption and therefore better overall public health. However, the WHO advocates are not […]
The European Union is cracking down on alcohol consumption. The newest idea: changing tax policy to incentivize the brewing of beers that are lower in alcohol percentage. This change will hurt craft breweries.
My most of my teenage years I was unaware that Central and Eastern Europe were viable travel destinations. This I have partially blamed on the Western European education system, which spends long hours on details of European leaders in the West, with little concern for the working for anything East of Berlin. I could still […]
It’s been a year since mandatory plain packaging for tobacco products was introduced in the UK. All tobacco products now have to be sold in greenish packets without distinctive branding. It was supposed to discourage smoking by making the packaging look unappealing. But when we look at plain-packaging policies around the world, the evidence tells […]
Bill Wirtz 