Ivan Mikloš (source: Maňo Štrauch)
The author is the president of MESA 10 and former minister of finance.
A wave of deregulation in the business environment has swept across the world. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s report—commissioned by the European Commission—identified excessive regulation as one of the key reasons behind the European Union’s lack of competitiveness. In response, the European Commission announced in late January 2025 its intention to reduce corporate reporting requirements by 25 percent, and by 35 percent for small businesses.
Last year, New Zealand established a new Ministry for Regulation, whose primary mission is deregulation. Both businesses and citizens can report instances of unnecessary or excessive bureaucracy. French Prime Minister François Bayrou has pledged to cut red tape, Vietnam plans to abolish a quarter of its state institutions, and India is also scaling back bureaucracy.
Argentinian President Javier Milei, upon taking office in late 2023, eliminated more than half of the country’s ministries. Deregulation is also a priority for US President Donald Trump in his second term, although, so far, he has achieved little more than chaos.
