EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
In recent weeks, the main topics on which the EQUIP made a number of appearances in the media were related to Bulgaria's potential entry into the Eurozone, the proposed bans on the advertising and distribution of lottery games, and the "Freedom for Hemp" protest march on the need to decriminalize marijuana in the country.
Dimitar Karagegov, as the organizer of the "Freedom for Hemp" march and program manager of Liberty420, was interviewed by a number of media outlets about the demands of the protest. The main goal of the protest was to show the true face of marijuana users in Bulgaria and to defend the cause of marijuana decriminalization. Such a policy is necessary because the current drug policy in the country is clearly ineffective, as over the last 15 years the number of Bulgarians who have tried weed has increased fivefold.
The analysis we published in December clearly showed that the Ministry of Interior's fight against dealers is also completely unsuccessful, as only 17.3% of all drug cases are for distribution. At the same time, the majority of people who use marijuana are Bulgarians who either work or study, that is, productive members of society, who are labeled as criminals simply because they smoke a plant that in no way harms anyone. Marijuana also has valuable medical uses, already recognized worldwide, and many seriously ill people in Bulgaria who need a prescription for marijuana for medical purposes cannot alleviate their illnesses due to inadequate drug policy. See more in the video:
On the topic of the euro, our political analyst Kaloyan Pravov participated in Bloomberg TV Bulgaria, and Stoyan Panchev took part in the show "Referendum" on BNT. The main thesis they defended is that at this point, potential entry into the Eurozone brings Bulgaria more risks than certain advantages. The probability of going the way of Greece if we enter the Eurozone is not small, and the Currency Board has given excellent results over the last 20 years and our economy is stable to a large extent thanks to it. In addition, at the moment the monetary union itself is too unstable and its future too uncertain, in view of the ongoing financial problems in the southern member states and the political crisis between Italy and the rest of the Eurozone. See more in the video.
Besides the euro, another particularly topical topic in recent weeks was the proposed restrictions on the advertising and distribution of lottery games. Our editor-in-chief Georgi Vuldjev, Stoyan Panchev participated in a number of media on the topic, including televisions such as BNT, radios such as "Darik" and print media such as the newspaper "Trud". Our economist Nikola Filipov also entered into a debate on the topic on TV Europe. As main arguments against the proposed regulations, we presented the lack of any data proving that there is a real problem with gambling addiction in Bulgaria, as well as the lack of any assessment of the potential economic and fiscal impact of the proposed regulations.
Overall, in our opinion, all the facts point to the fact that the proposed gambling regulations are not only unnecessary, but will also be harmful to the country's economy. We published a more detailed analysis of the proposed legislative amendments earlier this month, which you can read here. Watch the debate between our editor-in-chief Georgi Vuldjev and the sponsor of the bill, Hristiyan Mitev, on BNT at this link.
In addition to these two topics, our authors Georgi Vuldjev and Arkadi Sharkov also participated in a number of media outlets on current topics in the field of the pension system and healthcare.
Our editor-in-chief Georgi Vuldjev discussed the problems of the pension system together with former trade unionist Mika Zaikova on the air of Bulgaria ON AIR. He noted that in view of the current problems in our pension system, in the long term it may be necessary to either reduce the level of pensions or seriously increase insurance contributions. Both Vuldjev and Zaikova were in consensus that the country's current pension system needs a fundamental reform. You can read more about the EKIP proposal for pension reform on this website.
Arkadi Sharkov commented on the problems in the healthcare sector and specifically the financial difficulties of the NHIF in a number of media outlets such as bTV Radio, " 168 hours " and Channel 3. The key problem of the healthcare system in Bulgaria is that the state budget continues to swell more and more without reforms being carried out to optimize its absorption. This leads to a serious waste of resources, which carries an increasing financial burden on the treasury and also worsens the quality of healthcare services.
These are the highlights of the last few very dynamic weeks for us. Rest assured that EKIP continues to actively defend and promote sensible policies in all these areas!
