Under the Treaties, the European Union is required to respect the status of churches in the member states and not to prejudge that status, but certain tax exemptions granted to religious communities could fall under the State aid ban controlled by the European Commission.
Advocate General Juliane Kokott came to this conclusion, which she presented to the Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday 16 February. This conclusion concerned a case (C-74/16) regarding a tax exemption granted to the...