*** VIVIANE DE BEAUFORT (Ed.): Entreprises stratégiques nationales et modèles économiques européens. Editions Bruylant (Groupe De Boeck, 39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel. (32-10) 482511 - Fax: 482693 - email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). Macro Droit * Micro Droit 2012 series, 244 pp, €45. ISBN 978-2-8027-3783-4.
Following on from a conference organised a little over three years ago by the Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignements Transversaux Droit et Économie, from beginning to end this book makes the case for common European action to improve competitiveness, French competitiveness as much as that of other countries... Although necessary, national action will not suffice to get the EU27 out of the worst crisis it has ever been in, argues Viviane de Beaufort, professor of European law at ESSEC, which leads her to add that defining 'common European interests' is more urgent than ever if such interests are to survive in the globalised world of the twenty-first century. Her call is direct and to the point: 'In the face of global competition, one has to ask whether it is time, in the name of assumed European patriotism, to draw up European Union-wide a more offensive and pragmatic policy that preserves the Single Market principle without granting other Member States benefits that they do not grant to themselves.'
This sets the tone for the whole of the book, and in the first essays, transatlantic mergers and acquisitions expert Laurent Cohen-Tanugi increases the pressure even more by unambiguously admitting that 'what is at stake for Europe is no longer the idea of being the most competitive, but quite simply remaining in the race at all,' partly of course because the Open Coordination Method has proved to be such a 'weak tool.' Hence it is now a question of urgently finding ways of reconciling as far as possible the need to give the European Union greater bite through an Internal Market prepared for battle and also to save the face of Member States as these remain the essential players but have proved, like the albatross that is so clumsy on the ground, to be largely impotent in the world we now live in - whose 'globalised' companies escaped from their control many moons ago, although they still fly a national flag, and their weapons have lost the essence of their shine and legitimacy within the big borderless Internal Market. The essays in this book are devoted to examining how to escape from this numbness and tension, examining French responses, the intervention of EU law in sovereign action and how competition meshes with industrial policy. The final section sets out options for renewing and strengthening the European Single Market venture, and is supplemented by rich and varied annexes.
In 'updates' scattered throughout the book, Michel Rougier points out that 'there are many examples of strategic industries abandoned to financial globalisation predators.' He hammers home that eurozone nations have to choose between 'the devil of the collapse of the euro and the deep blue sea of loss of their social models which, although expensive, guarantee social peace, which is vital for maintaining an efficient presence in global manufacturing, a presence that cannot be restricted to the market shares of multinationals (independent of countries' strategies) even if they still have a national identity.' This author invites 'companies of the twenty-first century,' which are borderless by nature, to 'aid in the development of a national fabric of high-performance small businesses that will provide them with the local jobs required to maintain civil peace.' Will this call be heard? By industrialists, perhaps. By company boards that only focus on double-digit dividends? Less likely.
Pierre Bouvier
*** PHILIPP RIEDL: Die internationale Doppelbesteuerung im EU-Binnenmarkt. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). Finanz- und Steuerrecht in Deutschland und Europa series, No. 18. 2012, 338 pp, €61-80. ISBN 978-3-631-62222-3.
In this dense and detailed book, lawyer Philipp Riedl describes the influence of double taxation on the European Single Market. The first section deals with primary and derived law in the field of direct taxation and highlights fundamental European freedoms. Moving on to examine the problem of double taxation within the Single Market, he starts by explaining the origins and nature of double taxation, then looking at the option of scrapping it and current negotiations to this end. The second section examines the problem of compatibility of double taxation with European fundamental freedoms, discussing various re-distribution measures. The penultimate section examines the problem of compatibility between double taxation and fundamental freedoms and the final section looks at the final section of what used to be Article 293 of the EC Treaty (which later became the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) on the 'elimination of double taxation within the European Community,' an article annulled by the Lisbon Treaty. The in-depth analysis in this book is aimed at readers conversant with the subtleties of the legal domain and unsuitable for those lacking such expertise. (SH)
*** KATHARINA KNEISEL: Die Europäische Privatgesellschaft (SPE) im Konzern. Peter Lang (see above). Publications Universitaires Européennes/European University Studies series, No. 5322. 2012, 286 pp, €59-80. ISBN 978-3-631-63148-5.
In this book, Katharina Kneisel studies the European private company statute unveiled in draft legislation published by the European Commission in 2008. The book starts with a description of the European private company, examining its characteristics - and alternatives suggested by critics. Katharina Kneisel also discusses the option of using it in a supranational sense. After this comprehensive introduction, the first section of the book gives an overview of the European legal framework foreseen for the EPC, comparing it with German law on groups of companies and its European counterpart. She then looks in more detail at the draft regulation unveiled by the Commission, before highlighting the legal loopholes in the EPC, such as the absence of specific law covering groups of companies in this context. The second part of the book looks at exactly how a European private company is set up, structures it could make use of and how such companies are managed and financed. (SH)
*** DIDIER TOURNANT: Autrement. Un plan Marshall de trois ans pour nous sortir de la crise. Jack Edition (30 route d'Acquigny, F-27600 Ailly le Gruchet. Tel: (33-2) 32523174 - email: autrement@jackedition.com - Internet: http://www.jackedition.com ). 2013, 239 pp, €18. ISBN 978-2-7466-5744-1.
In this book, Didier Tournant invites everyone who believes that political leaders have become 'the puppets of finance' to use the ideas set out in this book to 'move beyond the stage of indignation' and take action. Europe is one of the areas he recommends for this action, arguing that 'economic rivalries exacerbate national rivalries' (he is particularly critical of Germany, saying it is guilty of 'taking shares of the market from Europeans through its policy of low-pay and poverty for German workers'). The option of federal Europe is therefore required, one of the top priorities being to set up 'European, rather than national' companies within the eurozone. A revealing book on the state of current malaise in society… (MT)
*** MARION HO-DAC: La loi du pays d'origine en droit de l'Union européenne. Analyse sous l'angle du droit international privé. Editions Bruylant (see above). Droit de l'Union européenne/Thèses series, No. 30. 2012, 639 pp, €115. ISBN 978-2-8027-3609-7.
Manager these days at the research and documentation unit of the European Court of Justice, Marion Ho-Dac presents in this book her thesis for Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV Univeristy on the connection between European Union law and international private law for determining countries of origin. Is it possible to more around with one's own legal system, the 'law of origin,' without paying attention to the law of the host country within the EU Member States? At first sight, No would seem to be the answer, because we have moved beyond the collapse of the Roman Empire when each individual was judged by the law of his or her country of origin, thus Saxons were judged under Saxon law and Romans under Roman law. Nevertheless, the scientific answer provided by Mario Ho-Dac is far more complex. Although attachment to a person's 'law of origin' has been supplanted in history by the gradual development of the modern theory of the conflict of laws, the author methodically explores in the book three new versions of the concept of origin in EU law, namely mutual recognition, the rule of review by the authorities of the country of origin (also known as home country control) and the principle of country of origin. In the book, the author starts by analysing the conjunction of the concept of the country of origin and international private law within EU law before examining a functional use of the concept, thus providing, as Prof. Sana-Chaillé de Néré explains, a new, global, reading of one of the most controversial questions raised by the connection between EU law and private international law. (MT)
*** GREGOR SCHROLL: Der Einfluss interner und externer Faktoren auf die Effektivität der Kronzeugenprogramme der EU-Kommission und des Bundeskartellamtes. Peter Lang (see above). Publications Universitaires Européennes/European University Studies series, No. 5270. 2012, 326 pp, €57-80. ISBN 978-3-631-63573-5.
In this book, Gregor Schroll describes the European Commission and German Federal Anti-trust Office's clemency programmes. The first section starts with a description of these programmes in the light of legislation covering cartels. The author explains the economic impact that cartels can have and the lawfulness of clemency programmes. The second section looks at the influence of domestic matters on the effectiveness of such programmes. The author gets to the heart of the subject by explaining in detail how the European Commission's clemency programme operates, along with the clemency rules of the German Federal Anti-trust Office. In the third section, Gregor Schroll explains the impact of external factors on the effectiveness of clemency programmes. The external factors he examines include penalties applicable to individuals and interest and damages. He also looks at the influence of EU and international programmes to combat cartels and how these impact on the clemency programmes in question. (SH)
*** STEFAN A. HEYER: Die Anwendung des EU-Wirtschaftsrechts auf audiovisuelle Mediendienste. Peter Lang (see above). Publications Universitaires Européennes/European University Studies series, No. 5342. 2012, 320 pp, €57-95. ISBN 978-3-631-62390-9.
In this book, Stefan A. Heyer examines application of European economic law to broadcasting. To this end, he has divided his thoughts into a number of chapters, each of which examines a specific issue. The first looks at broadcasting mergers, telecoms and information technology. The second describes the legal framework for broadcasting and the primary and secondary laws. The third chapter looks at plurality and democracy, along with European competition law. In the fourth chapter, the author examines application of EU competition law to broadcasting, with reference in particular to EU Regulation 139/2004 on merger control, paying attention to mergers themselves and criteria used to examine them. The fifth chapter looks at access, particularly access to multimedia, while the final chapter examines the granting of access under the 'essential facilities' rule. (SH)
*** ADRIAN JAGLARZ: Die fusionskontrollrechtliche Behandlung von Immaterialgüterrechtsakquisitionen im US-amerikanischen, europäischen und deutschen Recht. Peter Lang (see above). Osnabrücker Schriften zum Unternehmens- und Wirtschaftsrech series, No. 16. 2012, 373 pp, €67-80. ISBN 978-3-631-63133-1.
This book's author explores the way acquisition of intangible goods is dealt with under EU, US and German law. In the first section, Adrian Jaglarz compares and contrasts intangible goods and the law applying to them with the law applying to cartels. He then examines the negotiability of intangible rights in the three legal systems, explaining the different forms of transfer available for intangible goods and the degree of negotiability. In the third section, he describes the purchase of intangible rights against the backdrop of merger control in the United States, the European Union and Germany, reviewing in the process the Clayton Act in the United States, EU Regulation 139/2004 on merger control and the Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen in Germany (law to counter restrictions on trade). This legal study is so detailed that it is suited solely for experts. (SH)