On October 15th, Austria held its parliamentary election following the breakup of the coalition between social democrats and the center-right OVP. With a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 85 percent, continuous deficit spending, and rank 16 in the richest countries with the most wasteful government spending, you’d think that Austrians would be demanding an approach which comes closer […]
This month, EU governments and the European Parliament signed off on substantial changes to the Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. In the so-called “Omnibus talks”, the EU’s three main institutions, together with representatives of producers agreed to grant essential privileges to farmers.
Last week, the Spanish constitutional court decided to put a fine of over $14,000 on the organizers of the Catalonian independence referendum, for every day that it continues. Prior to this decision, thousands of referendum ballots had been seized by the central government, as Spain considers its rebellious region to behave unconstitutionally. Catalonia, currently a […]
Lorsque le président de la Commission européenne, M. Jean-Claude Juncker, a mentionné dans son discours sur l’état de l’union au Parlement européen, qu’il est inacceptable que certains États membres obtiennent mieux que d’autres des produits de qualité inférieure dans leur supermarché, de nombreux citoyens d’Europe centrale et de l’Est ont dû se sentir soulagés. Le […]
CETA, TTIP, ISDS: In den vergangenen Jahren haben zahlreiche Akronyme die Debatte um die Handelspolitik der Europäischen Union dominiert. Zahlreiche großangelegte Proteste in mehreren europäischen Großstädten gegen die Freihandelsgespräche zwischen der EU und den Vereinigten Staaten oder Kanada fanden in den letzten Jahren statt. Es stellt sich die Frage, wer die Anti-Freihandels-Rhetorik anheizt, die die öffentliche Meinung […]
CETA, TTIP, ISDS : de nombreux acronymes dominent le débat sur les politiques commerciales de l’Union européenne. Ces dernières années, de nombreuses manifestations à grande échelle ont été organisées contre les traités commerciaux entre l’UE et les États-Unis ou le Canada. Qui alimente la rhétorique anti-libre-échange que l’opinion publique semble aussi accepter ? La réponse […]
In a recent move by four EU member states, the European Union has brought up the issue of digital taxation, by suggesting that online business services should be taxed on turnover, not on profits. Based on an initiative by the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, these four governments demand action of the […]
In the acronym-filled debate about the European Union’s trade policies, the mood has taken a decidedly anti-free trade turn in recent years. CETA and TTIP both incited large-scale protests in major European cities. The question, then, is: who is fuelling the anti-free trade spirit that has taken hold? The answer might surprise you.
When EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker mentioned in his state of the union address to the European Parliament that it is unacceptable that some member states get lower quality products in their supermarket than others, many Central and European citizens must have felt relief.
Poland’s Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – PiS) has made international headlines due to its radical reform policy regarding the country’s judiciary system. These reforms are problematic, but they are not the only reason to be concerned about the future of freedom in the Central European state.
Bill Wirtz 