BRUSSELS, 24 January 2006 - Policy makers, journalists and friends of capitalism from all over Europe crowded the offices of the Centre for the New Europe AISBL (CNE) today for the annual presentation of the Index of Economic Freedom.

Initiated 12 years ago by the Heritage Foundation, the most influential free market think tank in the US, the index ranks the countries of the world according to the most important indicators of economic freedom, e.g., tax pressure, free trade and property rights.

This year, the presentation was given by the Index Expert Ana Isabel Eiras of Heritage. Originally a Heritage initiative, the index is now a worldwide project with partners including the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, The Wall Street Journal, Istituto Bruno Leoni, Institute for Economic Affairs, the F.A Hayek Foundation, the Institute for Market Economics and CNE.

The presentation, as well as the report (available here for online viewing, or as a PDF in English or Español), stressed the link between economic opportunity and prosperity, and especially pointed to the remarkable accomplishments made in some of the former communist countries that are not burdened with old power structures.

The top-ranking countries are among the expected free market stalwarts: Hong Kong, Singapore and Ireland comprise the top three. However, there are some surprises in this year's index, such as the fairly recently liberated republic of Estonia, one of the forerunners in the flat tax race, in 7th place already. Iran and North Korea, not surprisingly, came in last.

In the discussion following Ms Eiras's presentation, the conclusion was drawn that, albeit with some exceptions, "new" countries with fresh policies seem to stand a better chance economically than "old" ones.

CNE President Mattias Bengtsson stressed the importance of also considering civil liberties, and to avoid making the mistake of trying to separate individual freedom from economics, mentioning India, China and the history of Central Europe as examples, where different sorts of guild systems - excluding certain people from the market place - led to less prosperity for everyone.

For those who performed the research, the numbers made 2006 a year to celebrate. As the President of the Heritage Foundation, Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D. stated:

"The 2006 Index of Economic Freedom shows that economic freedom continues to advance around the world, with more people enjoying the benefits of its expansion...The message from this year's index is unmistakable. Improving and maintaining economic freedom is the only reliable way to generate a positive cycle of economic growth and prosperity in this era of increasing globalization."

Date
Tuesday 24 January 2006

Location
Centre for the New Europe
23 rue du Luxembourg
1000 Brussels