1ISSUE SIX

More than perhaps any other politicalissue, the environment is the polarisingdebate of our time. Certainly, fewissues fire the passions of such adiverse range of participants.But while political debate is fed by fervour andconviction, policy-making obeys a more sobercalculus. In environmentalist’s eyes, the recentmedia attention given to climate changebecause of its prominence on the G8 agendahas resulted in little tangible progress. Ironically,this may be partially the fault of the onlyagenda item that eclipsed even climate changein the public interest: development. Genuinequestions exist about the ability of developingnations to increase their wealth withoutcontributing significantly to world carbonemissions – China is a notable, and growing,

failure – and whether in an increasinglyeconomically interdependent world, developedcountries can make environmental concessionswithout harming their competitiveness.

The Stockholm Network and The Economistdecided to make this tension the central themeof their latest Westminster Fringe Debate,under the motion that ‘Prosperity, notenvironmentalism, is the best way to save theplanet.’The debate inevitably produced thesame polarisation of opinion already prevalentin public discourse. For many, ‘environmentalismis the child of prosperity’ – individuals andsocieties will tend to environmental nicetiesonce their pressing material needs are met. Soargued Martin Livermore, a freelanceconsultant and commentator on science policyand communications issues, who began by

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AUTUMN 2005ISSUE SIX

EYE ON EUROPESTOCKHOLM NETWORK – LINKING EUROPE’S LEADING POLICYMAKERS AND THINKERS

DOES THE WEST KNOW BEST?Is the European social modeldoomed? If so, what action must betaken? Is Western Europe ready forthe introduction of flat taxes? Could the introduction of market mechanismsin the provision of healthcare – successful insome parts of Eastern Europe – be a model for the debt-ridden healthcare systems of theWest? Or is it the case that systems in WesternEurope are so different that lessons from theirneighbours wouldn’t apply? These are just someof the issues dealt with in the latest StockholmNetwork publication Does the West Know Best?

When ten new member states joined theEuropean Union in May 2004, they not onlyturned the EU into the world’s biggest market– they ignited an explosive debate about thedirection in which Europe was heading.Theaccession of Central and Eastern European(CEE) countries into the EU provided the necessary impetus for a fundamental re-evaluation of its economic and social model.In the 12 months since accession, the EU-15have witnessed at closer hand the tremendous

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CLIMATE OF DEBATE

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

The Stockholm Network’sEnvironment Programme, overseenby Environment Director Dan Lewis,has now been running for just over a year. Our aim is to examine policysolutions to environmental problemswhich stimulate rather than hindereconomic growth, while recognisingthat a well-managed environment is a public good which contributes to a better quality of life for all.This autumn we are organising a number ofactivities which concentrate on these questions.Our latest Westminster Fringe debate with The

Economist, reviewed on page 1, asked expertpanellists to debate the provocative motion“Prosperity, not environmentalism, is the bestway to save the planet”. Later in the year, wewill also be launching the findings of an in-depth piece of opinion research which probesthe British public’s attitudes towards thesequestions and asks them to rank environmentalconcerns alongside other global and nationalpriorities such as fighting terrorism, relievingpoverty and providing clean water to people indeveloping countries.The goal is to discoverwhat degree of importance the electorateattaches to environmental problems in theround, rather than as a single issue viewed inisolation, which is often the way such debatesare presented by the media, NGOs and others.

We will also be launching two new publicationsthis winter on intellectual property issues, as wellas a book looking at the failings of Europeanwelfare states, and asking whether the UK hasanything to learn from the Swedish model ofpolicy innovation.

Last but not least, we welcome on board twoadditional part-time staff, Katie Perrior and Tim Evans, who will be working on mediaoutreach and business development respectively.Their contribution will enhance our mission to improve European public policy and toinform the public and key opinion formers of what we regard as the most cutting-edgeEuropean policy ideas and debates.

ISSUE SIX2

EYE ON EUROPE

social and economic reforms that have takenplace in the Eastern states.Will they finally haveto sit up and take action?

To stimulate a fruitful discussion of these issues,the Stockholm Network and the Centre forNew Europe collaborated to bring togethersome of the leading experts from Eastern andWestern Europe at a conference.The aim was toattempt to discern an answer to the question:Does the West know best when it comes toreform of economic and social systems?

This latest publication, based on the proceedingsof the conference, aims to ascertain what, ifanything, can be learned from eastern Europeanreforms in the fields of health and social security;tax, competition and regulation; and the labourmarket. Our authors reached a unanimous andunequivocal conclusion: the West does not havea monopoly on success, and it would do well tolearn from its neighbours in the East.

Martin Bruncko, the Chief Economic adviser to Ivan Miklos, the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia, paints an overall picture of thesuccessful reforms in Slovakia, and argues thatthe competition now coming from Slovakiaprovides an incentive for existing EU memberstates to examine their own regulatory andtax frameworks.

On Health and Social Security, our expertsagree that Eastern European reforms haveaddressed the impending crises of an agingpopulation and unsustainable healthcare systemsbetter than their Western counterparts throughthe introduction of market oriented reform.As Pavel Hrobon of the Czech think tankhealthreform.cz argues, this reform demonstratesto the reticent West that bold reform ofhealthcare can be immensely successful.

Flat taxation in Eastern and Central Europe isone of the more widely acclaimed reforms, andas Dan Mitchell of the Heritage Foundationargues, tax reform in Eastern Europe and thetax competition that has resulted are tools forEurope’s salvation.

In the final section of the book, attention is focused on the labour market. JohnnyMunkhammar of the Swedish think tankTimbro, makes a powerful case that theEuropean model is doomed. Gabriel Calzada,professor of economics in Madrid, addressesthe issue of enlargement and argues that aderegulated European labour market is theonly option for successful integration.

Does the West Know Best? assembles leadingthinkers from both Eastern and Western Europeto examine whether the EU-15 can learn fromsome of the new member states’ more radical

noting that nature is extraordinarily resilientand that the necessity of ‘saving the planet’ isgreatly overstated. Earth is, after all, in a processof constant regeneration. Equally, Livermoreargued that environmentalism is essentially anostalgic plea for a supposed better past.To besure, such a world – before factories,mechanisation, even widespread agriculture – isappealing from an aesthetic sense. But it wasalso a world in which mankind struggled dailyto survive and, even if the rugged wildernessappeals to some, most would not sacrifice thedependable availability of their basic needs.Nostalgia, therefore, will get us nowhere. Betterto increase individual wealth, which of itself willmitigate environmental damage. East Germany,for example, has dramatically improved itsenvironmental protections since reunificationand subsequent economic growth.

Stephen Tindale, executive director ofGreenpeace UK, demurred. Beginning with arebuttal of the contention that allenvironmentalists hark back to some imaginedrural idyll, he noted that most embracemodernity and are not anti-business, anti-growthor anti-profit. However, the untrammelledpursuit of profit can be dangerous because of

approaches to social and economic reform. Itquestions the sustainability of the Europeaneconomic and social model, while seekingsolutions to its endemic problems.

TheWest, it seems, does not know best. Indeed, itwould appear that it has no choice but to reform.And it would do well to draw its inspiration fromthe success stories on its doorstep.

Terence O’Dwyer

N.B. See page 16 for information on how toorder this publication.

the other problems it creates – environmentaldegradation being the most serious. Interestingly,Tindale argued that environmentalism andprosperity are not necessarily mutuallyexclusive, and regulations, if designed properly,can indeed boost innovation and profit.However, on the issue of climate change, hewas unequivocal. ‘It is occurring, and it is notreversible in any meaningful timeframe. Nor is itlinear, and without environmentalism therewould be no hope of mitigating its effects.’Ultimately, therefore, it is environmentalism andnot prosperity that constitutes the best meansto save the planet.

Yet we must not, according to Professor KeithPalmer, a leading energy finance expert, takeheed of ‘environmentalist doom mongers whohave prophesised collapse since timeimmemorial’. He went on to argue that thereare plenty of examples of the achievement ofboth great prosperity and concurrentlyimproved environmental conditions. If the goal isto ‘make poverty history’, then he concedes thatthere is a very important role for governmentregulation of the private sector, particularly toprotect the environment. ‘But we must not killthe goose that laid the golden egg by giving into extreme environmentalists’ demands’, whichare, he argues, ‘indeed anti-growth and anti-business’. Making poverty history means, saysPalmer, that expensive renewable energies arenot going to be an option for the millions indeveloping countries who would not be able tocompete, and thereby grow, without access tocheap fossil fuels.With the key challenge beingto bring prosperity to all humanity, rejection ofextreme environmentalists is essential.

By contrast, John Murlis,Visiting Professor ofEnvironment Policy at UCL pointed out thatthere exists an enormous acceleration ofchange in the environment and that ‘prosperity’will not, and cannot, deliver the environmentalgoods necessary for humanity to survive.Environmentalism is therefore necessary todeal with the challenges the world is facing.Furthermore, prosperity may not lead toimprovements in quality of life. As an example,he points to evidence that inequality – aproblem that has grown with prosperity – hasled to a deterioration in standards of health inWestern countries. He agrees with Tindale thatclimate change is a challenge that prosperitycannot solve, and contends thatenvironmentalism, coupled with innovation, is anecessary force to ‘save the planet.’

For more information on up-coming StockholmNetwork / Economist debates, see page 16.

Terence O’Dwyer and Sacha Kumaria

3AUTUMN 2005

STOCKHOLM NETWORK

DOES THE WEST KNOW BEST? CONTINUED

ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATE CONTINUED

THE ROMANIA THINK TANK is a free market think tank that wasformally established in 2002.

WHAT THEY DOThe Romania Think Tank (RTT) works to improvethe Romanian public’s understanding of thefundamental institutions of a free society, withparticular reference to the role of the freemarket as well as a functioning and active civilsociety in solving the country’s economic andsocial problems.The Romania Think Tank workswithin its three major subject areas: the FreeMarkets Institute, Center for the Rule of Law,and the Communications and Media Institutewhen preparing papers or hosting conferences.RTT supports Romania’s full membership andintegration within the European Union, and aimsto encourage debate about traditional freemarket principles, limited government, individualliberty, and the rule of law.The Romania ThinkTank attempts to provide practical reformistsolutions to ensure Romania’s transition to afunctioning free market economy and realdemocracy.The RTT directly and indirectlydistributes its findings to members of Parliament,key Parliamentary staff members, policymakersin the executive branch, the Romanian andinternational media, as well as the academic andpolicy communities in Romania and abroad.TheRTTs produces a range of publications andarticles, and regularly hosts lectures, conferencesand meetings.

WHAT THEY HAVE DONEThe Romania Think Tank has hosted severalsuccessful conferences and has published awide range of articles addressing many of theproblems related to the reform process inRomania.Whether acting as a whistle bloweror bringing partners to the table in an effort to tackle major transition topics such as justicereform, taxation, or liberty in the media, theRomania Think Tank has been committed to itsengagement in Romania’s development course.

Flat tax conference (May 2004):The RomaniaThink Tank strongly supported the introductionof a flat tax at a rate of between 15%-16% and a considerably simplified tax code.Theconference (hosted with another leading thinktank, the Romanian Academic Society) involvedthe participation of government officials,

Judicial Reform Conference: The main objectivewas to promote a dialogue between membersof the judiciary, the government, NGOs, legalpractitioners, foreign investors and diplomats,as well as helping representatives of the EU and foreign governments to understand theproblems of the Romanian judiciary and makeappropriate recommendations to the Romanianauthorities for reform.The conference wasdivided into three main sections.The firstinvolved presentations from government,political parties, and a representative of the EUDelegation.The second examined legal issues as viewed by the foreign investor, involvingpresentations by companies specializing incompany law.The third section considered theavailability of impartial justice to the Romaniancitizen, with speakers from NGOs.

FORTHCOMING PLANS ANDPUBLICATIONSRomania’s integration into the European Unionrequires vast efforts from all of its citizens. In thisrespect the Romania Think Tank has twoconferences planned for autumn 2005. Firstly,in early October, Romania Think Tank will host aBucharest urban planning conference that willbring together local and national governmentrepresentatives, strategic investors, civil society,the media, and representatives of public utilities.The goal is to find the common ground forsustainable development in Bucharest and thesurrounding region.The second conference, inlate October, will address the issue of electoralreform.The conference will look at variousvoting systems to find the appropriate solutionto the Romanian Dynamic, a transition awayfrom the current party list system towards auninominal (direct vote) electoral system.TheRomania Think Tank is also working vigorouslyfor the end of widespread corruption inRomanian Society. It is the root of poverty andunderdevelopment. Romania is far more corruptthan other EU applicant countries, ranking 77th out of 102 countries in TransparencyInternational’s 2002 survey. In April 2003, formerUS Ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest,made an unprecedented address, in which heset out just how damaging corruption is to theRomanian economy and society. Romania ThinkTank urges the Romanian government to takemeasures to stamp out corruption.

ISSUE SIX4

EYE ON EUROPE

PROFILE:ROMANIA THINK TANK

diplomats, politicians, practitioners (accountants,attorneys) and journalists, and explained how theflat tax would increase budget revenues throughthe reduction of evasion (legal or otherwise) andmake the system fairer and more transparent,so helping to attract substantially more foreigndirect investment (FDI). Lessons from Russia,Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia were discussed whichdemonstrated that the flat tax works.Subsequently, at the end of December 2004, a16% flat tax was implemented in Romania.

Media Conference: The conference – which alsoinvolved the participation of government officials,diplomats, politicians, academics and journalists –gave important lessons about the state of thewritten and broadcast media in Romania, as well as an opportunity for discussion anddebates between Romanian journalists andsome of their foreign counterparts.Theconference was particularly relevant in view of a number of highly critical reports on thestate of the Romanian media by foreign andRomanian NGOs such as Freedom House, theCenter for Independent Journalism and theMedia Monitoring Agency.To a great extent, thisconference built on the work of these NGOs.

www.rtt.ro

5AUTUMN 2005

has organized more than 230 one-day seminarsthat were attended by more than 5,120participants over the past five years. More than450 business plans were developed, resulting inthe creation of more than 3,530 new jobs(including seasonal jobs, many of which were inthe tourism industry).

Over the past 30 months, 12 public opinionpolls surveys have been prepared, conducted,and analyzed with results printed and distributed;three of these have become tracking studies.Based on these surveys, CEED is preparingpolicy recommendations. CEED has also begunpublishing a new quarterly publication,Montenegro Business Outlook, and Fruitful Edition,a series of nine leaflets that briefly explainbusiness laws. Both publications, and twelveother recent reports, are aimed at the businesssector representatives and entrepreneurs towhom these laws apply.Three conferences and17 round-tables were also held to help thebusiness community increase its influence on themajor issues related to economic development.

Key results were achieved in the area ofadvocacy, economic research and analysis, policyrecommendations for SME development andimproving the business environment inMontenegro, attracting foreign investors, trainingof both entrepreneurs and economic journalists,and business consulting.

CEED research from early 2000 showed thatthe registration process in Montenegro: is 1)complicated and expensive, 2) requiressubmission of many documents, and 3) createsdiscretionary rights for state officials. It took$5,000 of starting capital and 40 – 65 days toregister, through a maze of institutions, all at thediscretion of government bureaucrats. CEEDwas the first organization in Montenegro toinitiate discussion on this topic.

To start the process of removing such barriersto employer registration, CEED developed andimplemented a survey as an instrument andmonitoring tool to aid the achievement of thefinal goal: a business environment that will attractboth domestic and foreign investors and createmore, sustainable jobs in the private sector.Using the survey findings, CEED initiated publicdiscussions on drafting a new Enterprise Law.In cooperation with domestic and international

EYE ON EUROPE

CEED (Center for Entrepreneurshipand Economic Development ) is thefirst free-market think tank establishedin Montenegro – formally founded in1993 by two University professorsVeselin Vukotic and Petar Ivanovic.

WHAT THEY DOCEED’s mission is to promote and practicallyimplement the ideas of a free market,entrepreneurship, and private ownership in anopen and democratic society within the rule oflaw. In Montenegro CEED is dedicated topromoting a free market economy based onpersonal freedom and individual responsibility,the rule of law, protection of property rights,limited government lowering the tax burden,reducing government bureaucracy, and advancingthe principles of private enterprise that willbenefit individual citizens.

WHAT HAVE THEY DONEThe key features of CEED’s work are the‘Removing barriers to doing Business’ program,economic research and advocacy, businessassociations development, consulting services,and corporate governance initiatives.

In cooperation with the Centre for InternationalPrivate Enterprise (CIPE) in Washington, CEED

legal experts, the new Law was drafted andpassed by Parliament in January 2001.The newlaw allows for employer registration in 4 days,for 1 euro, compared with previous costs of up to 5,000 USD. Because the new law treatsentrepreneurs as legal subjects, more than12,500 entrepreneurs and 12,000 other legalsubjects have now been registered (in total,an increase of 55% over previous figures).

To implement the law successfully, CEED created4 one-page registration forms and advocatedthat they be posted to the Commercial Court’swebsite. Greatly enhancing the law’s effect,CEED published 10,000 copies of the leafletFruitful Edition and distributed them toemployers. In cooperation with the MontenegroBusiness Alliance, CEED organized 6 seminarsexplaining the law to employers so that they willnot have to hire lawyers – who charge anaverage of 150-200 euros per registration, amajor expense for an economically exhaustedpopulation. Approximately 2,000 people have re-registered at the CEED seminars. CEED iscurrently working to make possible employerregistration via the Internet.

In addition, CEED survey data showed thatemployers complain about taxes and levies aswell as the corporate tax rate. CEED did aresearch paper showing possible scenarios – suchas the number of employees and average wage –if taxes and levies on employees’ salaries arereduced.As a result of the pressure coming fromthe business community supported by CEEDdata, the Government of Montenegro recentlyagreed to reduce taxes on employees’ salaries by 10%, and reduce (down from the previousrates of 15 and 20%) the corporate income taxto 9%, which is currently, the lowest in Europe.

In an international competition of 403applications submitted by 316 institutes frommore than 80 countries, this year, the Center for Entrepreneurship and EconomicDevelopment (CEED) from Podgorica,Montenegro, won a 2005 Templeton FreedomAward Grant for Institute Excellence andsecond place in the Free Market Solutions toPoverty for its “Removing the Barriers to DoingBusiness in Montenegro” programme.

www.visit-ceed.org

PROFILE:CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP &ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT(CEED)

ISSUE SIX6

in public opinion, to be a ruthless exploiter of the working masses. It should not come as asurprise then that Italy, and the Venices inparticular, have been the birthplace of the mostviolent anti-globalisation movements.

Structural reforms, even if attained, would beshort-lived and would fail to be effective unlessthere was, at the same time, a transformation ofsocietal attitudes.The aim of the Venezie Instituteis to generate this change in mentality by activelyinforming and educating the general public,opinion makers and politicians about thebenefits of adopting reforms based on theprinciples of free enterprise, limited government,individual liberty and institutional integrity.

It is an uphill struggle, but the mission of theVenezie Institute is made much easier by thefact that free market principles and values have always been part of the institutional,social and economic heritage of the Venices.This area was part of the Venetian Republic –the birthplace of free enterprise, ofprivatisation and limited government, and of institutional integrity and above all, globaltrade.The Venetians have free enterpriseencoded into their DNA, and Marxism hasonly temporarily clouded these values.

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONSAND FUTURE PLANSThe Venezie Institute will soon publish theItalian translation of a book by a renownedinternational author.The presentation of thebook will also serve as an official introductionto the Venices’ first pro-market think tank.

The institute will initially concentrate ontranslating various foreign publications (researchpapers, books, success case studies, pamphlets)into Italian.With the aim of creating a lastingdesire for reform, it will then actively promotethese publications through public debates,conferences, press releases, media appearancesand direct mailing to journalists, academics,politicians and business people.

In addition, the Venezie Institute is currentlydeveloping its own website, and examining thepossibility of creating a monthly electronicnewsletter.

EYE ON EUROPE

PROFILE:VENEZIE INSTITUTE

international point of view; proposed solutionswill be based on in-depth research and analysisof successful foreign settings (mainly from theUS and the UK), and projects teams will be, asfar as possible, of international composition.

Although its free-market preferencesautomatically associate it with “conservative”thinking, the institute does not take a stand for,or against, any political party, and is willing tocooperate with any group interested in bringingabout institutional, social and economic changesin the Venices based on the aforementionedprinciples. Moreover, the institute is officiallyindependent of any political party, religious oreconomic interest group.This independence is ensured, on one hand, by a consciousdiversification in financial support and, on theother hand, by the integrity and qualifications of the members of its Advisory Council.

Despite the Institute’s focus on the economic andinstitutional issues of the Venices, it was decidedthat its headquarters should be in London inorder that its personnel might gain first-handexperience of the working of a real free-marketenvironment, and to increase its internationallearning and networking opportunities.

WHAT THEY BELIEVEAlthough the Italian Communist Party hasdonned a new coat and changed name, it is stillworking – though more subtly – towards thesame objective. Its officials still hold keypositions in state industries and governmentagencies and are blocking all attempts atreforms. Marxist ideas are still being skillfullyingrained into society; capitalism is still aswearword and a capitalist is still considered,

www.venezie.org

To the casual observer, Italy may notappear to be a transitional country in desperate need of market reforms.However, perhaps because this nationdid not formally lie behind the IronCurtain, it is often forgotten that Italyhad the largest and most activeCommunist Party in the westernworld – a party that at one timenarrowly missed obtaining anabsolute majority in free elections.Italy is a country where corruption pervadessociety and institutions; where sympathy forMarxism among the intellectual elite andopinion makers still runs high, and wherelabour unions wield immense power and can easily bring the nation to a standstill.

WHAT THEY DOAn independent, non-profit and explicitlyconservative think-tank, the Venezie Institutewas founded in February 2005 as the researchand development unit of the ConfederazioneVeneziana movement.

The mission of the institute is to assess themany challenges facing the Venices (the regionof North-East Italy) and to formulate andpromote possible solutions based on the corevalues of free enterprise, limited government,individual liberty and institutional integrity.TheVenezie Institute aims to approach eachinstitutional, social and economic issue from an

7AUTUMN 2005

In 2003, they implemented the project To NATOwith Our Head Up and Eyes Open targeted atinitiation of a public discussion about newquestions relating to the accession of Slovakiato NATO, international security issues and theposition of NATO after 9/11.

In 2003-2004, the CI organised severalconferences in different regions of Slovakia andissued a publication within the project USA,Europe and Slovakia in 2004.The target was tohelp eliminate common false myths about theUnited States.

In 2005, the CI organised a conference entitledEnvironmental Policy in the Slovak Republic.Theobjective was to discuss the possibilities ofderegulation in the area of environmentalpolicy and how to make the execution ofenvironmental policy more transparent. Otherevents in 2005 include a lecture by MichaelNovak, the world-famous Americanphilosopher of Slovak-descent, who discussedCapitalism and Catholic Church – Concordate orEnemies? He clarified why the Catholic majorityin Slovakia should trust the ‘invisible hand’ ofcapitalism and described the political, economicand moral order of free society.

EYE ON EUROPE

THE CONSERVATIVE INSTITUTEOF M. R. STEFÁNIK (CI) wasfounded in 1999 as the first, and to date the only, conservative think tank in Slovakia. It is organisedas a non-profit non-governmentalorganisation.The CI’s raison d’être is the articulation,dissemination and defence of conservativeattitudes and values in society and a free-market approach to economy in Slovakia.M. R. Stefánik was one of the founders ofCzechoslovakia in 1918, and the ConservativeInstitute is honoured and proud to hold hisname and is committed to his ideals.

WHAT THEY DOActivities of the CI are targeted at theeconomy, social policy, interior and foreignpolicies, security, EU issues, agrarian andenvironmental policies, regional policy,educational policy, civic society, fight againstcorruption and support of culture and arts.

The CI organises conferences, seminars anddebate clubs, analyses events in society andeconomy, issues thematic brochures andpublications.The experts of the CI publishtheir works in the media. All the releases are available to the public.

Within the framework of all activities, theConservative Institute – in close co-operationwith the Jury of the Dominik Tatarka Award –grants the Dominik Tatarka Award for literatureevery year.This prize is considered to be themost prestigious Slovak award for literatureand is an intellectual legacy of Dominik Tatarka,who was an important Slovak dissident andwriter of the 20th century.

WHAT THEY HAVE DONEIn 2002, the CI carried out a project on theEconomic Effects of the Accession of Slovakia to the European Union. Several activities wereperformed including the issue of the analyticalstudy on expected impacts of the accession of Slovakia to the EU and the conference,where the study was presented. At that time,the study was the first and the only onepresenting the risks of Slovakia’s accession to the EU.

The CI also recently held the first of itsConservative Economic Quaterly Lecture Series(CEQLS), examining the Impacts of Slovakia` sAccession to the Economic and Monetary Union(EMU). Marian L.Tupy of the CATO Instituteand Peter Gonda, the CI’s Economic Analyst,presented the main risks of the Euroexperiment, and the EMU on economic entitiesin Slovakia, and in the wider Eurozone.

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONSAND FUTURE PLANSThe Conservative Institute is also a founder of the Initiative Against the European Constitution.The main goal of the Initiative is to prevent thepassage of the Treaty in Slovakia, whichparliament overwhelmingly approved earlier thisyear. In June, the Constitutional Court accepteda complaint by the Conservative Institute, whichargued that there should be a referendum onthe issue because signing the treaty constitutedthe end of Slovakia as an independent politicalentity.The Court has suspended the ratificationof the European Union’s Constitution andissued a preliminary measure banning thePresident from signing the EuropeanConstitutional Treaty. A final verdict on thecomplaint will be issued this year, and theInstitute will therefore continue with activitiesfocussed on turning the tide of public opinionagainst the European Constitutional Treaty.

www.institute.sk

PROFILE:CONSERVATIVE INSTITUTE OF M.R. STEFANIK

ISSUE SIX8

THE SOCIETY FOR THEDISSEMINATION OF ECONOMICKNOWLEDGE (the NES-Georgia’sfull title), is Georgia’s first market-oriented think tank.The organisinggroup for the NES-Georgia wascreated in Auburn,Alabama in August2001, while the group’s founders, PaataSheshelidze (now President) and GiaJandieri (Vice President) were based at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

WHO THEY AREBoth organisers had experience in the field of economic education, having participated inthe creation of the Association of the YoungEconomists of Georgia (AYEG) in April 1989– prior to the Soviet Union’s collapse.TheAYEG achieved a notable victory shortlyafter its inception, when in September 1990,it forced the abolishment of Marxist doctrinefrom formal academic programmes at TbilisiState University.This event was not onlyunique to Georgia, but the whole of theSoviet Union. A new special educationalprogram in Macroeconomics was created, andis still taught today at Tbilisi State University.

The Stiftung and the NES-Georgia, who begancooperating in 2003, are both firmly committedto free-market principles, and the reform of the welfare state.With their partnership, theNES-Georgia has hosted over 25 local andinternational seminars, featuring a host ofinternationally renowned speakers.The NES-Georgia has also formed productivepartnerships with the Foundation for EconomicEducation in the United States. Indeed, inNovember, the NES-Georgia, in cooperationwith the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, will hostan international conference on ‘EconomicEducation: Relaties and Alternatives’ in Tbilisi andGudauri.The conference will feature participantsfrom the Foundation for Economic Education,the OSGF, the CRRC, and the TBC Bank. Andbetween October 2-9th, the NES-Georgia willbe hosting Ruth Richardson, the former FinanceMinister of New Zealand who pursuedsweeping economic reforms in the early 1990s.Ms Richardson will give a series of lectures and seminars, and participate in a number of workshops in order to help disseminatepositive, market-oriented ideas. She will alsomeet with a number of high-level state officials.

EYE ON EUROPE

www.economics.ge

PROFILE:NEW ECONOMICS SCHOOL –GEORGIA

After a period of informal existence,The NES-Georgia was given NGO status by a regionalcourt in Tbilisi in April 2003. Prior to gaining a legal status, NES-Georgia organised a numberof informal seminars, but attaining NGO statusallowed the group to begin fundraising andexpanding its network.Today, it is one of themost dynamic organisations in the Caucasus,with fifteen affiliated experts and a network of hundreds of students.

WHAT THEY DOGeorgia has a number of serious economicproblems, all of which are compounded by the lack of economic education amongst thepolitical elite, academia and the populace atlarge. Unfortunately, this problem has been long ignored. NES-Georgia aims to significantlyreduce this shortcoming, and disseminate freemarket ideas in order to equip individuals for a future of global markets and personalresponsibility.

The NES-Georgia has now hosted over 60private seminars (two per month since 2003),with an average attendance of sixty students,and several teachers, journalists, politicians andspecialists of various occupations. In addition totraditional market-liberal themes, the seminarsaimed to look at issues of practical versustheoretical economics, and problems specific to Georgian and international economics (forexample, energy supply, privatisation, banking,monetary policy, deregulation, taxation,international financial support.)

The main theme of early seminars was theintroduction of the Austrian, Institutionalist andPublic Choice economic schools into Georgianeconomic discourse.This was facilitated by thegrowing popularity of the NES-Georgia’sinternet newsletters, which originally had areadership of only several hundred people butnow reaches three thousand – roughly 5% ofGeorgia’s total internet users.The newsletterprimarily focuses on issues specific to Georgia,but draws many comparisons to relevantoverseas examples. In 2002, the NES-Georgiaalso established its website, www.economics.ge.

The NES-Georgia has pursued a very fruitfulpartnership with the Friedrich NaumannStiftung, the political think tank of the FreeDemocrats, Germany’s leading liberal party.