1ISSUE ELEVEN

Croatia’s government touts its progresson reforms and even its negotiators inBrussels announce improvements. Infact, after receiving the EU annualProgress Report on Croatia, theCroatian government proclaimedCroatia’s ‘progress’ to the local media.However, when taking a closer look, there is abewildering gap between what is described inCroatia’s rhetoric and the actual situation on theground.The Wall Street Journal describedCroatia’s prime minister as playing ‘spin doctor’:“According to the EU report…Zagreb still has“no overall strategic framework” for reform. Itlacks “clear and transparent rules andprocedures with regard to elections and theforming of governments at the local level.”Furthermore, Croatia is “still some way fromenjoying an independent, impartial, transparent

and efficient judicial system,” and,“manyallegations of corruption remain uninvestigatedand corrupt practices usually go unpunished.”Those are just the political issues.

So how is the report being received in Croatia?As praise for the “progress of reforms,”according to Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.”

In a statement given in January 2007, Oli Rehn,the EU’s enlargement chief, said, “Croatia stillneeds to focus on creating a more open,competitive economy for the benefit of allCroatian citizens. It should tackle reform of thejudiciary and the public administration, as well asthe fight against corruption and organised crimeearly on in the process.”

The 2007 Index of Economic Freedomproduced by The Heritage Foundation and TheWall Street Journal places Croatia in 109th

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

WINTER 2007ISSUE ELEVEN

EYE ON EUROPESTOCKHOLM NETWORK CELEBRATING 10 YEARS AS THE LEADING PAN-EUROPEAN THINK TANK & NETWORK

CROATIA’S CONUNDRUM

ROMANIA’S POST-ACCESSION CHALLENGE There is now a consensus that thepressure put on Romania by the EUduring the accession negotiationsprocess had a positive impact on thereform movement in Romania.But whether Romania’s recent accession to theEU – considered by many to be premature –had a positive or a negative effect is more difficultto answer. Just over a month after joining theEuropean Union, Romania is in the midst of aprofound political crisis.The plot reads like apolitical thriller.

The Prime Minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, isattempting to work his way out of a web of lieshe has woven to protect former partner andboss, oil tycoon Dinu Patriciu from the justicesystem. Patriciu’s troubles evolved out of an anti-corruption campaign inspired by thecountry’s president,Traian Basescu.The twist isthat this turn of events has prompted a powerstruggle driven by the emergence of a coalitionof political parties and oligarchs aimed atimpeaching and removing President Basescu.As political war rages, reforms have stalled. Likeany true political thriller, this chain of events holds implications beyond Romania’s borders.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

ISSUE ELEVEN

EYE ON EUROPE

This issue of Eye on Europe focuses not just onthe enlargement of the Network but also onthe enlargement of the European Union, whichrecently added another two members, andwhich continues to attract aspirant memberstates, such as Croatia.

In many ways, the challenges remain the sameas they did ten years ago – how to maximiseeconomic growth, how to reform andmodernise welfare systems for the consumerage and how to create a knowledge economy.But new problems also arise including energysecurity, climate change, the tension betweenintellectual property and competition and,indeed, how large the European Union couldand should become.

Increasingly the problems are global in scaleand we look to other countries to see howthey address the same problems. In 2007, aswell as looking back at what we have achieved,we will be looking ahead to how we can learnfrom countries around the world in stimulatinga new impetus for European reform.

This year the Stockholm Network isdelighted to be celebrating its 10thanniversary. Looking back over adecade of European public policy, it isimpossible not to be struck by therise in growth and influence of themarket-oriented think tanks. Fromour early days conducting small policyroundtables, when the concept ofhaving a think tank member in Spainor eastern Europe seemed remote,we have seen the network flourish inall sorts of places, even at times inthe face of Government oppositionand a very tough environment forfundraising.

2

This is a story of how political and economicpower structures rooted in the old communistregime have managed to mutate, survive andgrow, passing through the post communisttransition and re-emerging today in a new form,fully anchored in the economy and polity of thenewly enlarged European Union.The currentRomanian political situation demonstrates thatthe EU may have got more out of Romania’saccession than it bargained for.

A mere overview of the list of those aligningagainst President Basescu gives a sense of thenature of the forces at work: the extremistGreater Romania Party, whose leader wasofficially identified as the ‘court poet’ tocommunist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu; the ex-communist Social Democrats driven by theireternal informal leader, Ion Iliescu, an oldapparatchik; the Conservative Party whoseleader, a media mogul also known for buildingovernight one of the largest fortunes inRomania, was exposed as a political policeinformer by the Commission for the Study ofthe Securitate Archives; the National LiberalParty, whose current leadership, after a thoroughpurge of the reformists led by Valeriu Stoica andTheodor Stolojan, is dominated by a assortmentof former Party officials and lacklustre politiciansnotorious for their association with various

There is growing interest among Europeans inpurchasing property in Croatia’s pristine coastallands. However, with the lack of protection ofproperty rights, corrupt local governmentofficials and a flawed judicial system, potentialbuyers would be wise to adopt a cautiousapproach – caveat emptor – when investing inCroatian real estate. For local citizens, propertyrestitution cases have been bogged down in thecourt systems for more than a decade. Croatiahas over 1.4 million back-logged cases.

Most relevant for European taxpayers, the EU will send an additional €140m this year –directly to Croatia’s government to aid itsreform process. Between 2000 and 2006, theEU poured in over €500m to support Croatia.

With stalled reforms, and alleged and reportedcorruption in the highest government offices in Zagreb (all remain uninvestigated andunpunished), millions of EU aid euros arenevertheless pouring into Croatia.Disappointingly, there is not much evidence of major structural reforms being implemented.And unfortunately, accountability amongCroatia’s elected officials is non-existent.

Croatian politicians state that key reforms will be delayed until after the elections (November

2007) which translates into a minimum ten-month delay; all the while readily receiving some€140-160m from European taxpayers.WithCroatia’s government mired in corruption andopenly involved in undermining democracy andfreedom, the additional infusion of cash is a surerecipe for grand mischief.

In order to augment and ensure an authenticreform process in Croatia, EU aid should bereduced, the aid process reformed, strongconditionalities imposed and a strict monitoringprocedure established.

Croatian and EU taxpayers have invested much in Croatia’s reform process with less thanlaudable results.The parlous state of Croatia’sjudicial systems and stalled reforms needgreater attention. Moreover, the reform processrequires accountability from within and without.Anything less will result in Croatia’s governmentirresponsibly spending EU taxpayer euros, andgetting away without implementing thenecessary structural reforms.

Natasha Srdoc, MBA, and Joel Anand Samy,co-founders, Adriatic Institute for Public Policy,Croatia

oligarchs for years; a mixture of media mogulswho control most of the Romanian mass media;and last, but not least, Mr Patriciu himself, thegeneral and main financier of this army.

What do all of the above have in common? The desire to preserve the status quo. In the 16 years after the demise of Soviet control of an oligarchic system emerged in Romaniacontrolling the political parties and institutions of the state.That system rested on two pillars:the old networks originating in the structures of the communist regime and the new wealthcreated on their basis. Slowly the systemconsolidated under a small group of robberbarons and their political agents. And althoughthe key anti-corruption condition imposed bythe EU for Romania’s accession was dismantlingthis system, it still thrives, albeit in adjusted anddisguised forms. After all, some of Romania’srepresentatives at the EU negotiation table were also the representatives of the system.And the incentive was there for the reformiststo overstate their reform successes to securethe coveted spot in the EU.

On 1 January 2007, while Romanians rejoicedachieving their European dream, Europeanofficials hailed the Romanian accession as amission accomplished against all odds.Then anodd thing happened: Mr Basescu signalled hisintention to continue the reform process and

dismantling the oligarchy. Irrespective of hisreasons, among which pure electoral concernsmay rank highly, the bottom line is that hisdetermination to confront the oligarchy head onat the very moment when everybody expecteda “sweep it under the rug” tacit consensus, hasproduced a grave internal crisis.

EU officials face an unexpected test precisely atthe moment when they have lost the leveragethey used during the accession period. Now it isclear that one of the most corrupt oligarchicnetworks in Eastern Europe has survived andindeed strengthened. Besides the fact that theEU’s claims to have “closely monitored thepolitical progress of the country towardsaccession” are shown in an unflattering light, thatnetwork has now become a part of the EU,possibly with its own representatives in theEuropean governing bodies.

Will the EU officials stand up and support thereformists? Or will they close their eyes andadopt a ‘muddling through’ strategy, knowing fullwell that Romania may increasingly become astory of a botched accession process? One wayor another, in just over a month since joining theEU, Romania has become a problem and achallenge for the union of European democracies.

Horia TerpePaul Dragos Aligica

3WINTER 2007

WWW.STOCKHOLM-NETWORK.ORG

COPING WITH ROMANIA’S ACCESSION CONTINUED

position out of 157 assessed nations worldwide(and 37th out of 41 in Europe), and records itslipping into the “mostly unfree” category.TheIndex spotlights areas in which Croatia performsbadly, such as the rule of law and protection ofproperty rights, widespread corruption, a flawedjudicial system, a large government, heavyregulation, rigid labour laws and slowprivatisation. Croatia’s government expenditureas a percentage of GDP is 51%, the highest ineastern Europe and above the EU average.

“I have not seen any progress in combatingcorruption over the last 3-4 years,” said aCroatian entrepreneur who asked to remainanonymous.“Those that are involved incorruption are doing it more openly and withless fear than ever before. In order to getproperty registered you have to wait 18 monthsor it can be expedited if you offer a bribe.”

Similarly, foreign investors face obstacles withCroatia’s heavily regulated environment, the lackof an independent judiciary (foreign businessesrequire that disputes be settled abroad) anduncertainty through political arbitration in theareas of taxation and fees.

CROATIA’S CONUNDRUM CONTINUED

imag

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all,

PhDFree Minds Association (FMA) was

established as a non-profit, independenteducational think tank by a few like-minded people who see the root ofthe problems in today’s Azerbaijan and have been inspired by classicalliberal ideas.

FMA brings together like-minded people whobelieve in liberty, free market economies,human rights and liberal democracy. FMA is notinvolved in day-to-day politics and politicalactivities. Instead, as an independent intellectualgroup, it aims to set and influence broaderdiscussions so as to contribute to theliberalisation of Azerbaijan in economic andpolitical fields and accelerate transformationfrom a centrally planned to a market economy

WHAT THEY DOThe objectives of FMA are to promote a visionof a free society based upon individual liberty,private property rights and limited governmentunder the rule of law; to teach people aboutthe institutions required to develop a freesociety in Azerbaijan and their impact on theaverage Azerbaijani citizen;and to contribute to discussions aboutAzerbaijan’s political and economic problemsfrom a liberal perspective.

Their vision is to promote understanding andacceptance of values such as liberty, justice,peace, human rights, rule of law and toleranceamong Azerbaijani people.The FMA wishes toinfluence the future of the country by forming astrong network of people who favour replacingcoercion with free cooperation among freepeople.The Free Minds will provide anappropriate platform to bring together youngliberals and to encourage them to appear as apolitical force.

WHAT THEY HAVE DONEDespite a lack of funding, a hostile environmentand having only recently been founded, theFMA has achieved significant milestones to date.They organised numerous training sessions and seminars, with the participation of TomPalmer of Cato Institute, on the topic “LimitedGovernment and Rule of Law in TransitionalCountries”; a three-day seminar on“Understanding Free Society and Intellectual

as a repository of liberty-promoting articles,events, publications and as a major networkinghub serving not only for people in Azerbaijanbut also the huge Azeri minority group(approximately 20 million people) living in Iran.

Additionally, a conference on energy andenergy security is planned to take place in2007.The topic will be the geopolitics of theCaucasus region and the impact ofneighbouring countries (i.e. Russia) on itsenergy security.The conference will be co-organised with Italy’s Bruno Leoni Institute, andthe UK’s Transatlantic Institute.

FMA expects to organise a follow-upconference in Milan once an agenda has beenagreed in Baku.

Another important activity is the EconomicEducation Programme (EEP) in rural Azerbaijan,which is an innovative attempt to tackle theproblems of the country from a theoreticalaspect while providing practical solutions toexisting challenges.They aim to create a liberal-minded workforce of economically awareyoung entrepreneurs who will be able to startup new business initiatives.The programmeaims to build awareness and practical skills forthe development of a market economy, freemarkets, property rights and the idea ofindividual responsibility. In this sense, the newentrepreneurs will be able to introduceinnovative/ground-breaking ideas and becomeindependent forces in different areas of sociallife (economic and political) that in the long-run will lead Azeri society towards liberty andfreedom.The Programme is a two-phasedproject lasting 12 months.

One of the most important initiatives underwayin 2007 is to organise a symposium of liberalsliving in Turkic-speaking countries.The theme ofSymposium will be “Liberalism in the Region” topromote high-profile participation of intellectuals,prominent economists and political scientistswho will have the rare opportunity to presenttheir ideas on the issues that affect them.Weplan to co-organise this symposium with theAssociation for Liberal Thinking, based in Ankara,Turkey.The goal is to synergise availableresources, to identify common problems and todesign solutions and joint initiatives to tackle theissues faced by the region.

ISSUE ELEVEN4

PROFILE:FREE MINDS ASSOCIATION

Change” (the first liberal seminar in Azerbaijani),“The Liberal School” in partnership withAssociation for Liberal Thinking in Turkey and tens of lectures given by leading FMAmembers and liberal friends visiting Azerbaijan.

They effectively collaborated with other freedomoriented organisations by sending four studentsin less than six months to do internships in theUS and Turkey. Dozens of students attendedseminars and lectures outside of Azerbaijan.

FMA also embarked upon its long-term ambitionto translate key classical liberal books intoAzerbaijani. Free Minds has already finished atranslation of Bastiat’s “Law” and has alsopublished translated articles in numerousdomestic newspapers and magazines.

They also organise World Freedom Daycelebrations on the 9th November of eachyear (the anniversary of the fall of the BerlinWall in 1989). At the event, FMA membersrelease white balloons, make brief speechesand inform the public about the paradigm offreedom while people socialise and networkwith each other. 360 guests attended their firstWFD Party in 2006.

FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIESThe FMA are about to launch the firstAzerbaijani liberal website, which will be kept

EYE ON EUROPE

5WINTER 2007

of retreat to further protectionism. Argumentsagainst liberalisation have become morepopular and influential.The World TradeOrganisation’s Doha round has conspicuouslyfailed to deliver further multilateralliberalisation. Not least, within the EU,protectionist pressures have held back furtherliberalisation of the Single Market as well asmore opening to the rest of the world. Such aclimate demands new efforts to soberly reviewcurrent policies and present independent facts-based analyses of concrete cases.

WHAT THEY DOECIPE was founded in 2006 by Fredrik Erixonand Razeen Sally to improve the extent andquality of research on trade policy in Europe.There are several research centres and thinktanks around Europe addressing internationaleconomic issues, but few of them have a strongfocus on trade policy and none match therange of work done in the United States byinstitutes like the Brookings Institution or theInstitute for International Economics.There isalso a dearth of international economic policyanalysis that has a genuine ‘political economy’flavour. ECIPE aims to diminish this gap withresearch and analysis that brings togetherpolitics, economics and law, and applies them toreal world policy-making.

WHAT THEY HAVE DONESince its inauguration in November 2006,ECIPE has published several papers and hostedseminars and conferences. Recent publicationsinclude: Germany and the G-8 Presidency byFredrik Erixon and Andreas Freytag, Trade Policyin Asia by Razeen Sally, Are Developing CountriesDeterred from Using the WTO Dispute SettlementSystem? by Roderick Abbott, and Debt Reliefand Changing Governance Structures inDeveloping Countries by Andreas Freytag andGernot Pehnelt.

ECIPE have arranged seminars and conferenceson European and international economic policy,and also publish a regular email newsletter. Allpublications can be downloaded from theirweb page www.ecipe.org.

FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIESECIPE will significantly gear up its activity in2007 as its research projects start to yieldresults.This spring ECIPE will publish policy

The European Centre for InternationalPolitical Economy (ECIPE), based inBrussels, is a new, independent, andnon-profit policy-research think tankdedicated to trade policy and otherinternational economic policy issues of concern to Europe.

WHAT THEY BELIEVEECIPE is rooted in the classical tradition of freetrade and an open world economic order.Progressive reduction of barriers to themovement of goods, services, capital andpeople across borders creates prosperity, andimproves the conditions for peace, security andindividual freedom. ECIPE’s intention is tosubject international economic policy,particularly in Europe, to rigorous scrutiny, andto present conclusions in a concise, accessibleform to the European public.We aim to fostera ‘culture of evaluation’ – largely lacking inEurope – so that better public awareness andunderstanding of complex issues in concretesituations can lead to intelligent discussion andimproved policies.

There are still many barriers to internationalcommerce. In recent years many regions haveseen a liberalisation slowdown, with the threat

research papers on, among other things, EUantidumping policy, EU trade policy, EU-Africapartnership agreements, EU-Asia traderelations,Transatlantic trade relations, EU-Russiarelations, global economic governance, andservices liberalisation.This spring ECIPE will alsostart new research programmes on trade inhealth care, trade in education and a post-Doha agenda for trade liberalisation.

PROFILE:EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR INTER-NATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

WWW.STOCKHOLM-NETWORK.ORG

www.ecipe.org

The Center for Institutional Analysisand Development is a research,educational and outreach organisationthat has undertaken the mission tointroduce ideas from political science,law and economic theory into publicdebate and public policy making.

WHAT THEY BELIEVEThe Center’s ideology derives from the classicalliberal, libertarian and neoconservativeconvictions shared by CADI’s members andassociates, and their commitment to protectindividual freedom through their programmesand projects. Under the guidance of severalinternational and local personalities, CADIprovides a platform for academic andentrepreneurial cooperation between youngRomanian intellectuals supportive of a freeeconomy and open society.They are using itslogistical support in designing and carrying outtheir own projects and initiatives.

WHAT THEY DOThe Liberal Forum, the first Romanian OnlineSchool of Classical Liberalism is a challenge tothe one-size-fits-all education model. Over tenweeks, humanities students interested in marketmechanisms and are introduced to the basicarguments of classical liberalism and freeenterprise.The key purpose of the LiberalForum is to combine the major benefits of avirtual environment, widely used for informal

water resources The programme focuses uponthe evolution of the respective institutionalarrangements when subjected to externalchanges.

The programme intends to highlight theevolution of its self-government features in thelight of the tragedy of the commons model.

The central interest of the research programmelies in the analysis of the resistance and resilienceof the self-government norms and arrangementsfor collective action in reaction to changes in theexternal economic and social environment and totop-down reforms introduced in various periods.

The institutional analysis and developmentframework (IAD) will be used for this purposeand the empirical research will include anexploration of early self-governing systems, atypology-building assessment of cases and aseries of in-depth case studies.

Another CADI activity,The Armchair Projecthosts key pieces of academic research andjournalistic initiatives.

A joint initiative of CADI, Liberalism.ro,TheIndependent Center for Studies in Economicsand Law, Mises – Romania Institute and othercontributors, the goal is to create acomprehensive database of liberal academicpapers in social sciences on the subject ofindividual freedom.

FORTHCOMING PLANSCADI is privileged to be hosting the FourthEuropean Resource Bank Meeting (ERBM) inBucharest from the 13th – 16th September2007 While topics of the meeting are wide-ranging – from issues of European economicintegration, to national educational outreach andstudent programmes – the mission of ERBM isto enlarge the debate about freedom and toimprove strategies for its advancement. It will bea forum for organisations, experts, partners andfriends to meet, develop new ideas, and sharetheir experiences.The Resource Bank Europeprovides unparalleled networking opportunitiesfor those within the European free-market andlimited-government community.The topic of the2007 conference is: “Enhancing Freedom:TheEuropean Constitution and the Global Context”.

ISSUE ELEVEN6

PROFILE:THE CENTRE FOR INSTITUTIONALANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT

debates, with the advantages of a school.Withinthe Liberal Forum students have the freedom tochoose independently where, when and howmuch of their time will they spend learning, allunder conditions of competition assisted by aninstructor.

The forum instructor helps students tostreamline arguments of the ten small textsprepared for each weekly e-seminar andanswers any questions or challenges; theinstructor also evaluates students’ weekly essaysproviding feedback on academic writing skills.

The Liberal Forum began as a one-semester on-line seminar and it is developing into a properschool in classical liberalism under the brand ofthe Center for Institutional Analysis andDevelopment.

The pilot round of the Liberal Forum completedsuccessfully in January 2006.

WHAT THEY HAVE DONELibertarian Week took place in Romaniabetween October 16th – 21st 2006:

Less than two years ago, apart from a smallbulwark of Austrian economists gathered in theLudwig von Mises – Romania Institute, only a fewindependent scattered researchers and professorscarried the flag of libertarian principles. During theyear 2006 the Romanian Libertarian Networkwitnessed unprecedented change both in termsof systematic communication between a growingnumber of active members and in terms of itsoutreach. Libertarian Week emerged from thesedevelopments.A couple of months before thebeginning of academic year 2006-2007, CADItogether with the Association Liberalism.ro,TheIndependent Center for Studies in Economics andLaw (CISED) based in Cluj-Napoca andindependent members of the Ludwig von Mises– Romania, combined a series of conferences,screenings, round tables and publicationsbetween the 16th and the 21st of October2006 into the first major public event launchingthe Romanian Libertarian movement into themainstream. Not only was this the first time inRomania that hundreds of people participated ina series of events solely dedicated tolibertarianism, but several organisers appearedon TV in subsequent weeks.

Other CADI activities include a research projectlooking at the management of forestry and

EYE ON EUROPE

www.cadi.ro

7WINTER 2007

Economic Growth (ICEG); the EconomicFreedom of the World Network (a founder) -www.freetheworld.com and a co-publisher ofthe Index of Economic Freedom of theWorld, the Network of Institutes and Schoolsof Public Administration in Central andEastern Europe (NISPAcee), the EuropeanResource Bank Europe (founder), and CentralEast European Mortgage Financing Network(founder).

WHAT THEY BELIEVEIME is an active promoter of economicfreedom.Their ideas are based on the followingprinciples:

• Low taxes• Small but efficient administration• Effective protection of private property rights• Free competition• Voluntary exchange

WHAT HAVE THEY DONEThe Institute for Market Economics has beenone of the major advocates of low tax since itsestablishment.Their campaign to lower the totaltax burden succeeded and at the momentBulgaria has corporate tax rates of just 10%,along with relatively low income tax.Theirprinciple goal is to reform social security, togetherwith the pension and healthcare systems.

The Institute for Market Economics(IME) is the oldest and foremostindependent economic policy thinktank in Bulgaria. Its mission is toadvocate market-based solutions tothe reform challenges that citizens inthe Bulgarian region face.This missionhas been pursued since early 1993,when the Institute was formallyregistered as a non-profit legal entity.

WHAT THEY DOAll IME activities are designed to implement andfurther a free market approach with a focus onthe roles, relationships, and opinions generated byindividual liberty.They also study the economicand policy implications of a society founded onindividual liberty, and how public decision-makingcan be understood as informed individualdecisions and responsibilities that combine toform the foundation of collective actions.

In order to recruit public and political supportfor reforms, IME has used differentdissemination techniques.

IME publishes a weekly bulletin on economicpolicy (www.ime.bg/bg/pr_bg) as well as a ‘LowTax’ weekly bulletin (http://ime.bg/bg/bulletin-for-low-taxes).

IME also supports an education websitecreated to provide and disperse basicknowledge of economics and libertarianism.The ‘Economics Access Station on the Internet’can be found at www.easibulgaria.org.

For years, IME has promoted the idea of a‘Cost-Benefit Analysis’ of policies and regulation.IME has disseminated knowledge, methodologiesand surveys through its affiliated webiste:www.ria-studies.net.

Besides these major programs, IME analysescurrent political and macroeconomicdevelopments and provides advice togovernment and private agencies, investmentbanks, local and foreign investors, andembassies. IME also conducts company analysesand case studies on individual enterprises andsectors.

IME is a member of:The Balkan Network (afounder), the International Centre for

IME has also contributed to the dismantling ofthe pyramid schemes which proliferated in theearly-mid 1990s; the advocacy and introductionof the currency board arrangement; revealingpeculiar economic foundations of hightransaction costs, bureaucratic burdens andinformality of economic process of the 1990s;reducing those burdens between 1999-2004;and lowering mortgage interest rates andfacilitating the access to residential mortgagesbetween 1998 and 2002.

There is hardly an important reform issue inthe last twelve years that has not been tackledby the IME. In 2001 it was awarded the SpecialPrize of the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria for“its overall contribution to the development ofthe civil society”.

In February 2006, the Institute for MarketEconomics was a winner of the 2006 TempletonFreedom Award for the advancement of liberty,and was chosen from over 80 instituteapplications from all over the world.

PROFILE:INSTITUTE FOR MARKET ECONOMICS

WWW.STOCKHOLM-NETWORK.ORG

www.ime.bg

ISSUE ELEVEN8

ABOUT THE NETWORK

Policy IssuesThe Network is a forum for sharing, exchangingand developing pan-European research and bestpractice. Interested in ideas which stimulateeconomic growth and help people to helpthemselves, we promote and raise awareness ofpolicies which create the social and economicconditions for a free society.These include:

Reforming European welfare states andcreating a more flexible labour market.Updating European pension systems toempower individuals.Ensuring more consumer-driven healthcare,through reform of European health systemsand markets.Encouraging an informed debate onintellectual property rights as an incentive to innovate and develop new knowledge inthe future, whilst ensuring wide public accessto such products in the present.Reforming European energy markets toensure the most beneficial balance betweeneconomic growth and environmental quality.Emphasising the benefits of globalisation,trade and competition and creating anunderstanding of free market ideas andinstitutions

What do we doWe conduct pan-European research on, andcreate a wider audience for, market-orientedpolicy ideas in Europe. Our website contains a comprehensive directory of European freemarket think tanks and thinkers.We advertiseforthcoming events (our own and those of

partner organisations) and facilitate publicationexchange and translation between think tanks.We also post regular news flashes and updateson European think tanks and their activities.

When was the Stockholm Networkfounded?The Stockholm Network was founded in 1997by Helen Disney, a British journalist and policyspecialist.The spread of market-oriented thinktanks and independent policy researchinstitutes across Europe from the mid-1990sonwards, created a niche for a network hub,capable of providing a bird’s eye view of thepolicy environment.The network’s early aims,which have continued to the present day, wereto find an efficient method of connecting like-minded policymakers and thinkers; toencourage collaboration on joint researchprojects in order to share the most successfulpolicy innovations and arguments more widely;and to ensure a wider audience and a moreco-ordinated approach to the dissemination of market-oriented ideas within Europe andbeyond its borders.

Who funds the StockholmNetwork?The Network is funded by a wide range ofindividuals, corporations and foundations.A mixture of for-profit and not-for-profitorganisations, some SN supporters are globalenterprises, while others are small or medium in size. Subscriptions from individuals, commercialenterprises, and a range of NGOs includingother think tanks make up the bulk of our funding.We also derive a small incomefrom the sale of our publications and researchmaterials to the public, bookshops, governmentagencies and private companies. Corporatesubscribers come from a wide range of sectorsthat currently include information technology,energy, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, public affairsand venture capitalism. Subscribers do not have a veto over the outcome of Stockholm Networkresearch or any influence over its media output.

Why should I support theStockholm Network and its work?The Stockholm Network is in the business ofcreating in Europe an intellectual climate inwhich human prosperity and your organisationcan thrive.We strive to maintain the bestknowledge of European market-oriented thinktanks, ideas and thinkers, directing you swiftly tothe expert or organisation you need.We alreadyhave a proven track record in influencing thepolicy debate and our network and influence isgrowing all the time.

How could you or yourorganisation benefit from SNmembership?

Expand your database by meeting newcontacts from across EuropeReceive weekly Stockholm Network emailupdates and quarterly newslettersReceive Stockholm Network Books andPublicationsGet invitations to Stockholm NetworkEvents and Activities

Would you like to join theStockholm Network?Please contact us on +44 20 7354 8888 oremail info@stockholm-network.org

EYE ON EUROPE

The Stockholm Network is the leadingpan-European think tank and market-oriented network. It is a one-stopshop for organisations seeking towork with Europe’s brightestpolicymakers and thinkers.Today, theStockholm Network brings togetherover 120 market-oriented think tanksfrom across Europe, giving us thecapacity to deliver local reformmessages and locally-tailored globalmessages across the EU and beyond.

Combined, the think tanks in ournetwork publish thousands of op-eds in the high quality European press,produce many hundreds of publications,and hold a wide range of conferences,seminars and meetings.As such, theStockholm Network and its memberorganisations influence many millions of Europeans every year.

“We face a broad range ofeconomic challenges over thenext decade. Learning from theexperiences of market-basedreform elsewhere in Europeand the world can help us setthe best course for Britain.The Stockholm Network is an invaluable resource in facingthat challenge.”Matthew Hancock, Economic Advisor to ShadowChancellor George Osborne MP

9WINTER 2007

MEET THE TEAM

WWW.STOCKHOLM-NETWORK.ORG

JACOB ARFWEDSON has worked asinternational press editor at the French PrimeMinister’s Information Office; director of eventsand publications at the French free-market thinktank Institut EURO 92; research director at theWorld Association of Newspapers; managingeditor of the website Executip.com; andconsultant in media relations at the OECD.He is currently research fellow at the StockholmNetwork and a freelance writer and consultantto think tanks in Europe and the USA.

HELEN DISNEY is Chief Executive of theStockholm Network. Her background is inpublic policy and the media. Formerly aneditorial writer for The Times and an editorialwriter and commentator for the Daily Express,Helen continues to write regularly on a rangeof public policy topics for such publications asthe Daily Express and Sunday Express, PublicFinance, Public Service Magazine, and The Sprout,a satirical Brussels-based magazine, as well asregular weekly entries for the Centre for theNew Europe’s health weblog, CNE Health.Helen has been the Director of the StockholmNetwork since 1997, and is a founding memberof the organisation.

PAUL DOMJAN is Energy Fellow at theStockholm Network. He has previously servedas the first Energy Security Advisor to the USEuropean Command where he developed anenergy security strategy for the US EuropeanCommand for Europe, Eurasia, and Africa.Mr. Domjan is currently a British Marshall Scholarat Wolfson College, University of Oxford with aspecialty in the political and economic geographyof oil and gas producing countries.

DR TIM EVANS is the Stockholm Network’sDirector of Development. He works across the spectrum of policy issues to ensure that the

Stockholm Network continues to promote itswork and develop support across a range ofconstituencies and interests. A former Presidentand Director General of the Centre for theNew Europe (2002-2005), he also served aschief economic and political advisor to theSlovak Prime Minister, Dr. Jan Carnogursky,between 1991-92.

FRANCESCA FICAI joined The StockholmNetwork in October 2006 after working for two Labour MPs in Westminster. Herprofessional background started at the EuropeanCommission where she worked for the DGRegional Policy. She then moved to London andworked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the taxdepartment. She also has experience in marketresearch and journalism.

She graduated from La Sorbonne University(Paris) in Political Science and InternationalRelations and holds a Masters from theUniversity of Bath in European Politics.

SHANE FRITH is the Network’s ManagingDirector. Shane will provide senior managementand leadership for the organisation in achievingits strategic aims. Shane has worked for anumber of London based think-tanks, includingReform, Open Europe and the Centre forPolicy Studies, since moving from his nativeNew Zealand. He is also the founder andDirector of Doctors’ Alliance, a pan-Europeannetwork of medical professionals seeking betterways to deliver healthcare.

SIMON MOORE joined The StockholmNetwork in early 2006 following thecompletion of a successful internship period.In addition to administrative work and websitemaintenance, Simon edited Beyond the Borders,a companion piece to The Stockholm

Network’s State of the Union publication, he isalso the editor of Eye on Europe and compilesthe Network’s Weekly Update e-newsletter.

KATIE PERRIOR is the Media Director of theStockholm Network. She joined us in July 2005to help promote our work in the British,European and International media. She is theco-founder and director of The Research Shop,an independent media agency which specialisesin out-sourced, ad-hoc media research. Mostrecently, she has worked for ITV and Channel 4News, and is a local councillor, and ConservativeSpokesman for Community Safety, for theLondon borough of Bexley.

DR MEIR PUGATCH is the StockholmNetwork’s Director of Research and heads the intellectual property and competitionprogramme at the Stockholm Network. He isbased at the School of Public Health, Universityof Haifa in Israel, where he is a lecturer onintellectual property policy, management andthe exploitation of knowledge assets andentrepreneurship. Dr Pugatch is also a guestlecturer at the Department of InternationalRelations, Hebrew University Jerusalem, wherehe lectures on the international politicaleconomy of trade policy.

CARA WALKER is responsible forcommunicating the work of the StockholmNetwork, mainly through the coordination and management of the Network’s events and publications. In addition to this, she isresponsible for press and media coordination.After graduating with a 2:1 in Ancient Historyfrom Bristol University, she was appointed asIain Duncan Smith’s Constituency Secretary.She then went on to become the Director ofthe Atlantic Bridge, a free market transatlanticthink tank.

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MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

The Stockholm Network is theleading pan-European think tank andmarket-oriented network. Spanningalmost 40 countries and over 120think tanks, our unique organisationhas the capacity to deliver localmessages and locally-tailored globalmessages across the EU and beyond.

Through our publications, weekly newsletter,and special events, members are able toexchange ideas and make an impact on a widerange of public policy topics and ideas.

If you know of a new organisation you think would benefit from StockholmNetwork membership, please contact ouroffice at info@stockholm-network.org and let us know.

“Too many of Western Europe’seconomies are sclerotic and indesperate need of reform.TheStockholm Network plays acrucial role in linking Europe’smarket-orientated think tanks,promoting the ideas that areessential if Europe is to have abrighter future”. Nick Herbert MP

EYE ON EUROPE

11WINTER 2007

Adam Smith Institutewww.adamsmith.org/United KingdomAdam Smith Societywww.adamsmith.it/ItalyAdriatic Institute for Public Policy www.adriaticinstitute.org/CroatiaAlbanian Liberal Institutewww.liberalb.org AlbaniaAnders Chydenius Foundationwww.chydenius.net/eng/index.aspFinlandAssociation for Liberal Thinkingwww.liberal-dt.org.tr/TurkeyAssociation for Modern Economywww.ame.org.mk/MacedoniaAvenir Suissewww.avenir-suisse.ch/SwitzerlandBulgarian Society for Individual Libertywww.libertarium.net/BulgariaCaptuswww.captus.nuSwedenCausa Liberalwww.causaliberal.net/PortugalCentre for Economic Developmentwww.ced.bgBulgariaCentre for Economic Developmentwww.cphr.sk/SlovakiaCentre for Economics and Politicscepin.cz/cze/index.phpCzech RepublicCentre for Entrepreneurship and Economic Developmentwww.visit-ceed.orgMontenegroCentre for European Reformwww.cer.org.uk/United KingdomCentre for Institutional Analysis and Developmentwww.cadi.roRomaniaCentre for Liberal Strategieswww.cls-sofia.org/BulgariaCentre for Liberal-Democratic Studieswww.clds.org.yu/SerbiaCentre for Policy Studieswww.cps.org.uk/United KingdomCentre for Political Thoughtwww.omp.org.pl/indexang.htmlPolandCentre for Research into Post-CommunistEconomieswww.crce.org.uk/United KingdomCentre for Social and Economic Researchwww.case.com.plPolandCentre for the New Europewww.cne.org/index.htmBelgiumCentre for the Study of Democracywww.csd.bg/BulgariaCentro Einaudiwww.centroeinaudi.it/ItalyCentrum im.Adama Smithawww.smith.pl/ PolandCEPOSwww.cepos.dk DenmarkCercles Liberauxwww.cerclesliberaux.com/FranceCivic Institutewww.obcinst.cz/Czech RepublicCivitawww.civita.no/civ.php?mod=content&id=6NorwayCivitaswww.civitas.org.ukUnited KingdomClub 2015www.club2015.orgBosnia

Conservative Institute of M. R. Stefanikwww.institute.sk SlovakiaCouncil on Public Policywww.council.uni-bayreuth.de/GermanyE.G.West Centre UKwww.ncl.ac.uk/egwest/United KingdomECIPEwww.ecipe.orgBelgium Economic Policy Research Institutewww.epri-macedonia.org/ MacedoniaEkome (Society for Social and EconomicStudies)www.ekome.gr/English/default.aspGreeceEudoxawww.eudoxa.se/SwedenEuro 92www.euro92.com/new/europe.php3FranceEuropean Ideas Networkwww.epp-ed.org/europeanideasnetwork/BelgiumEVAwww.eva.fi/eng/index.phpFinlandF.A. Hayek Institutewww.hayek-institut.atAustriaFAESwww.fundacionfaes.org SpainFondation pour l’innovation politique www.fondapol.orgFranceFoundation for Market Economywww.fme.hu/HungaryFrédéric Bastiat Stichtingwww.bastiatstichting.nl/The NetherlandsFREE (Forum Rozwoju Edukacji Ekonomicznej) www.free.org.pl/PolandFree Market Centrewww.fmc.org.yu/SerbiaFree Minds AssociationAzerbaijan Friedrich Naumann Stiftungwww.fnst.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-449/i.htmlGermanyFriedrich von Hayek Gelsellschaftwww.hayek.de/GermanyFundacio Catalunya Obertawww.catalunyaoberta.netSpainGdansk Institute for Market Economicswww.ibngr.edu.pl/english/index2.htmPolandHamburg Institute for International Economicswww.hwwi.orgGermany Hayek Foundationwww.hayek.ru/RussiaHealth Consumer Powerhousewww.healthpowerhouse.com BelgiumHealth Policy Institutewww.hpi.skSlovakiaHealth Reform.czwww.healthreform.czCzech RepublicHellenic Leadership Institutewww.hli.gr/GreeceiFRAP (French Institute for Research into Public Administration)www.ifrap.org/FranceINEKOwww.ineko.sk/english/ SlovakiaInstitución Futuro www.institucionfuturo.orgSpainInstitut Constant de Rebecquewww.institutconstant.chSwitzerlandInstitut Economique Molinariwww.institutmolinari.org/Belgium

Institut Hayekwww.fahayek.org/BelgiumInstitut Montaignewww.institutmontaigne.org/FranceInstitut Turgotwww.turgot.org FranceInstitute for Economic Studies Europewww.ies-europe.org FranceInstitute for Free Enterprisewww.unternehmerische-freiheit.de/GermanyInstitute for Free Societywww.isloboda.skSlovakiaInstitute for Market Economicswww.ime-bg.org/BulgariaInstitute for Strategic Studies and Prognosiswww.isspm.org/ MontenegroInstitute for Transistional Democracy and International Securitywww.itdis.org HungaryInstitute of Economic Affairswww.iea.org.ukUnited KingdomInstitute of Economic and Social Studieswww.iness.skSlovakiaInstituto Juan de Marianawww.juandemariana.org SpainInstytut Globalizacjiwww.globalizacja.orgPolandInstytut Liberalno-Konserwatywnywww.ilk.lublin.pl/PolandInternational Policy Networkwww.policynetwork.net/United KingdomInterticwww.intertic.orgItaly Istituto Acton www.acton.org/ital ItalyIstituto Bruno Leoniwww.brunoleoni.itItalyJerusalem Instiute for Market Studieswww.jims-israel.orgIsraelLiberales Instituteng.libinst.chSwitzerlandLiberalni Institutewww.libinst.cz/english/Czech RepublicLibertarian Alliancewww.libertarian.co.uk/United KingdomLibertaswww.libertas.dk/DenmarkLiberté Chériewww.liberte-cherie.com France Liberty Ideaswww.liberalismus.atAustriaLithuanian Free Market Institutewww.freema.org/LithuaniaLudwig von Mises Institute Europewww.vonmisesinstitute-europe.orgBelgiumLudwig von Mises Institute Polandwww.mises.plPoland Ludwig von Mises Institute Romaniawww.misesromania.org RomaniaM.E.S.A. 10www.mesa10.skSlovakiaMagna Carta Foundationwww.magna-carta.itItalyNew Economic Schoolwww.economics.ge/GeorgiaNew Social Market Economy Foundationwww.insm.de/index.jspGermany

Nova Civitaswww.novacivitas.org/BelgiumNova Res Publicawww.novarespublica.org/ItalyOpen Europewww.openeurope.org.ukUnited KingdomOpen Republic Institutewww.openrepublic.org/IrelandPoder Limitadowww.poderlimitado.org/SpainPolicy Exchangewww.policyexchange.org.uk/United KingdomPoliteiawww.politeia.co.uk/United KingdomProject Empowermentwww.project-empowerment.orgUnited KingdomRatio Institutewww.ratioinstitutet.nu/SwedenReformwww.reform.co.uk United KingdomRiinvest Institute for Development Research www.riinvestinstitute.orgKosovoRomania Think Tankwww.thinktankromania.ro/RomaniaRSE (Centre for Social and Economic Research)www.rse.isIceland Sauvegarde Retraiteswww.sauvegarde-retraites.org/FranceSME Unionwww.sme-union.czCzech Republic Sobieski Institutewww.sobieski.org.plPoland Social Affairs Unitwww.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/United KingdomStiftung Marktwirtschaftwww.stiftung-marktwirtschaft.de/GermanyTaxpayers’ Alliancewww.taxpayersalliance.comUnited KingdomThe Copenhagen Institutewww.coin.dk DenmarkThe F.A. Hayek Foundationwww.hayek.sk/ SlovakiaThe Globalisation Institutewww.globalisationinstitute.org United KingdomThomas More Institutewww.institut-thomas-more.orgBelgiumTimbrowww.timbro.se/SwedenVenezie Institutewww.venezie.orgItalyVeritaswww.veritas-iceland.comIcelandWalter Eucken Institutwww.eucken.de/en/index.htm GermanyWork For Allwww.workforall.orgLeuven

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WWW.STOCKHOLM-NETWORK.ORG

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EYE ON EUROPE

THE STOCKHOLM NETWORK35 Britannia Row, London N1 8QHUnited Kingdom

Tel: (44) 207-354-8888Fax: (44) 207-359-8888E-mail: info@stockholm-network.orgWebsite: www.stockholm-network.org

Unlocking Ideas: Essays fromthe Amigo SocietyThe Amigo Society conferences, held in Brussels, wereset up in 2004 to bring together public policy experts,media representatives and members of civil society todebate these and other issues of importance to anenlarged Europe. Held at the Amigo Hotel, a formerprison, their aim was to release new ideas and freshthinking into the Belgian – and wider European –public debate.

It assembles the highlights of these debates over thepast two years and provides exciting new insights forthe reformers of the future.

Healthy IPRsStockholm Network’s newest publication on intellectualproperty rights (IPRs), exposes readers to the centralissues currently taking place in the field of pharmaceuticalIPRs. As an edited volume, the book covers issues acrossthe board, with articles from distinguished scholars,policymakers and practitioners.

It is no secret that pharmaceutical IPRs have been andcontinue to be subject to some serious misconceptionsand disinformation. Opponents describe them as havinga profoundly negative effect on society such as limitingaccess to medicines in developing countries. Indeed,discussions about pharmaceutical IPRs have producedas much (or perhaps even more) heat than substance.

In contrast, it provides comprehensive and fact-based, yetreader-friendly, discussions on the importance andcomplexity of pharmaceutical IPRs by describing some ofthe contemporary debates taking place in the field.

If you would like to order a StockholmNetwork publication, please send a cheque made payable to ‘StockholmNetwork’ to the address below.Please also include £2 postage in Europe,£3 postage Rest of the World.

Return Address:Stockholm Network35 Britannia Row, London N1 8QHUnited Kingdomwww.stockholm-network.orginfo@stockholm-network.org

EVENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

A Sick Business £10Apology for Capitalism £10Beyond the Borders £10Coincidence or Crisis? £10Does the West Know Best? £8

European Dawn £10Europe needs Saving £10Flat Tax £10Intellectual Property Frontiers £5 Impatient for Change £12

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