Ahead of 2023 Europe Liberty Forum, Atlas Network Announces Finalists for Europe Liberty Award

EPICENTER is focused on addressing the cost of living crisis in Europe, providing the region’s policymakers with the intellectual ammunition needed to push for liberalizing reforms, especially those that alleviate economic burdens. Working closely with Atlas Network partners across the continent, EPICENTER conducted policy research while leveraging traditional and social media channels. The think tank’s message garnered over 600 mainstream media mentions in eight countries and reached the majority of European households, with more than 110 million individuals now better informed about the actions their governments can take to reduce prices. The media campaign also reached prime ministers and other policymakers, contributing to regulatory reforms in France and Italy, in addition to stopping a planned tax increase in Romania.

After Bulgaria’s Supreme Justice Council (SJC) put forth a 2021 proposal that threatened the integrity of the country’s judiciary system, the Institute for Market Economics stepped in to stop it. In 2021, the SJC publicly presented a model for a new court map, which included plans to cease the operation of—but continue paying for—numerous courts across the country. This would have limited rural entrepreneurs’ access to the Bulgarian legal system by forcing them to travel long distances to more populated areas. With that in mind, IME executed a media campaign to reverse the SCJ’s efforts. And it worked: The proposal was scrapped and the two SJC members responsible for the court map ultimately resigned. IME also used the opportunity to promote its preexisting work on judicial reform, helping make the country’s legal system work for all Bulgarians.

In 2021, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) supported the country’s liberalization of its labor migration system, which was passed into law in June 2022. At a time when protectionism and restrictionism dominated public discourse, LFMI promoted the freedom to work, income mobility, and human dignity—all the more important given the mass migration of Ukrainian refugees today. LFMI not only conducted a systemic analysis of Lithuania’s over-regulated labor migration system, but its experts also shared concrete policy recommendations that changed the discourse. Because of their efforts, Lithuania is now a haven for all immigrants, with the issuance of temporary work permits doubling in recent months and Lithuanian companies now better-equipped to address manpower shortages.