overregulation

July 8, 2024

Why European Firms Can’t Compete with SpaceX

I came across a statement that surprised me with its boldness. It claimed that in 2008, the economic strength of the eurozone was roughly at par with that of the US. Additionally, today – 16 years later – the economic strength of the US is twice as much as that of the eurozone.
January 12, 2021

Who is Your Nanny?

Some countries allow you to buy a beer at any time day or night. Others have total prohibition. The enormous differences in the way governments around the world treat alcohol make it an unlikely candidate for global regulation, but the World Health Organisation wants to have a go anyway.
December 3, 2020

Minimum Wage Wars in Europe

At the end of October, the European Commission proposed a Directive to introduce adequate minimum wages across the EU. Although the end objective is socially considerate and far-reaching, the means of achieving statutory minimum wage would not only be harmful for the most vulnerable workers in society, but would negatively affect the economies of Eastern Europe.
November 11, 2020

Getting Quickly Out of Crises – What Do We Know?

Coronavirus has resulted in a major economic crisis, and caused immense damage to both the economy and people’s lives. This damage is both a result of voluntary social distancing and the draconian measures most Western governments have put in place in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.
October 22, 2020

Lessons from Estonia

Like other issues, taxes are one of those policy areas where the differences between EU member states are greater than the commonalities. The International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI) from the Tax Foundation is a measure of the competitiveness of OECD countries’ tax systems.
October 16, 2020

Reforming Tax Policy in Europe After COVID

The post-COVID world poses significant challenges for taxation policy. Our recent panel discussion with FNF was based on the recent publication of the International Tax Competitive Index which explored changes in corporate, individual income, consumption, and property taxes as well as the treatment of overseas profits.
October 12, 2020

Decentralise Financing To Improve The Rule Of Law

The new Commission report on the rule of law in the EU has found that ‘there are serious challenges, cases where the resilience of rule of law safeguards is being tested and where shortcomings become more evident’.