Why the Baltic States Should Reject the Nanny State
EMERGING EUROPE: Before the Baltic nations drown themselves in an avalanche of paternalistic lifestyle regulations, they should consult their own populous about the changes they want to introduce.
NGOs in Europe: On Transparency and Double Standards
VOCAL EUROPE: Transparency is a big and oft-heard word these days in Brussels. Every week dozens of private companies and nonprofits register for the EU’s Transparency Register, a mandatory step in order to obtain easy access to the European Parliament and the Commission. While voices have become louder to put corporate lobbyists under even more […]
Bus market liberalisation: the European Commission gets it right
VOCAL EUROPE: Bus market liberalisation ultimately means: more choices for consumers, more competition on the market, higher quality for lower prices.
Regulatory Capture in European Evidence-Based Policy Making
IREF: The evidence used in policy making then ought not to be taken at face value, given the vested interests at play. There is a role for scrutiny of the evidence used in policy proposals, as well as investigating the incentives for the interest groups who are benefitting from them.
The EU Spends Millions to Lobby Itself
FEE: In order to balance the democratic deficit that the European Union has been accused of having, the EU’s Commission has been extensively engaged in the subsidization of civil society. The result: NGOs are non-pluralistic, politically biased in favor of the EU, all while funding remains nontransparent.
The EU’s war on competition
CAPX: Both the creation of cartels and the further imposition of tariffs makes the European Single Market less competitive, and, in an important way for all Europeans, less accommodating for consumers.
Despite End of Sugar Quotas, the European Union Is Still Sweet on Protectionism
PANAM POST: Getting rid of sugar quotas was a good first step. However, the European Union now needs to be consequential and eliminate all market distortions, including those which are irregular payments, in the interests of consumers.
The EU Is Still Sweet on Protectionism
FEE: Getting rid of sugar quotas was a good first step. However, the European Union now needs to be consequential and eliminate all market distortions.
