On Tuesday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced the date of early parliamentary elections: they will be held on February 8. The elections will largely become a vote of confidence in government policy. Among other things, the event aims to bring the two parts of Ireland closer together. An important step in this direction was taken last week: on January 11, the Parliament of Northern...

Direct losses of the Australian economy after forest fires, which have been unceasing since last fall, will amount to $ 3.5 billion, or from 0.2-0.5% of the country's economic growth, Westpac Bank, one of the largest in Australia, said. Australia expects a drop in GDP in 2020 due to fires and lower iron ore prices. Westpac expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut rates twice this year, but...

A new government was sworn in Austria this week. Its head, 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz, has once again become the youngest prime minister in the world. At the same time, he is the most experienced politician in his office. Journalists speak of the new Austrian government as unique and unprecedented for several reasons. First, Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz, 33, is the youngest head of government in...

The main topic of the meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday will be issues related to a trade agreement between the parties after Brexit, the office of the head of the British cabinet said. "It is expected that he (Prime Minister) will tell Chairman von der Leyen that the citizens of Britain and Europe...

The tender around the modernization of the Bulgarian army, in dire need of an upgrade, is entering the political phase… The unusual characteristics of the request for proposals is an indication that defense minister Krasimir Karakachanov may already have made his decision, disregarding actual characteristics of future offers, in order to please US allies. A choice, if confirmed, which may result...

Next year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense plans to begin modernizing its missile defense system to ensure the ability to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, the Sankei newspaper reported. According to the publication, it is planned to improve the existing Japanese missile defense system, equipped with SAM-4 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. It is expected that the modernization work...

After several successful but sector-specific military industrial partnerships, Italy may be the first to answer France and Germany’s call to finally unite Europe around defense matters. Over past decades, the landscape has considerably changed with many players dropping out of the market, and the future of Europe’s defense lies in the continental partnership. Not a leader, but not out of the...

Italian Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti told Reuters that he had resigned after he could not get additional funding from the government. According to Fioramonti, billions of euro are needed by his ministry to improve the country's schools and universities. The minister told Reuters that he notified Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of his “irrevocable resignation” in a letter dated December...

Although the size of shadow economies in European countries declined during the post-crisis years, it remains significant, especially in Eastern Europe. Since the size of the informal sector in local developing economies directly depends on the quality of regulation, government efficiency and the level of development of human capital, it is possible to deal with it only in a comprehensive way,...