*** MARIANNE DONY, CATHERINE SMITS (Editors): Aides d'Etat. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, CP 163, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - fax: 6503794 - E-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http: //www-editions-universite-bruxelles.be). "Etudes européennes" series. 2005, 234 pp., €28. ISBN 2-8004-1353-0.
"After more than forty years of application of rules on State Aid one is struck by the significant amount of legal uncertainty reigning today in relation to the notion of state aid and the issue of assessing it"… These were the words of Anne Houtman, Deputy Head of Cabinet for Romano Prodi in the previous Commission, in her preface to this book , which extends an international colloquy organised by the legal section of the Institute of European Studies at the Free University of Brussels. This senior civil servant explains that this legal uncertainty is “as surprising as it is worrying” and results from the fact that “faced with the unlimited imagination of Member States used to help their companies and from the pressure from the increasing number of complaints, the Commission is sorely tempted, in its decisions on individual cases to expand the field of Article 87 paragraph 1” of the Community Treaty even if the jurisprudence recently appears to want to define the notion of State Aid. Suddenly, we now find ourselves in the presence of a whole range of decisions and texts for amending legislation, which results “more from a specious foundation than a coordinated effort to establish a stable analysis of different constitutive elements of notions of aid”. Anne Houtman explains that added to this problem is the fact that the current relative uncertainty on assessing aid results from attempts begun at the beginning of the 1970s for improving transparency and legal security. Moreover, as is often the case, the best is not always a friend to the good and this effort created over the years, “a multiplication of rules, that were not always coherent, often of a sectoral nature and for the most part pertaining to soft law”.
The book is therefore published in this context and just when the Commission is determined to modernise. Eminent specialists in this field, lawyers and/or academics provide an examination and reveal the stakes at play, as well as the persistent loopholes. They also attempt to propose ways for rectifying the shortcomings. In this way the provide some original reflections on the criteria defining the notion of State Aid as well as the aspects of the State Aid system which cause the most difficulties to current practitioners in the field: compensation for public service requirements; identification of beneficiaries of State Aid in cases of reimbursement; the statute of plaintiff and the application of rules for exemptions for certain categories. Possible decentralisation of the powers that control state aid is also discussed. In his conclusions, Michael Waelbroeck, Emeritus Professor at the Free University of Brussels points out that such developments could at best involve areas that are strictly restricted. He thus drives the point home even further, “any attribution of decision-making powers to Member States for controlling the State Aid they grant to their companies should, taking into consideration the permanent conflict of interest which results from it, be accompanied by a parallel strengthening of the Commission's powers of inspection on these countries”. An astute reminder that being both judge and player is never a healthy option and that the Commission's job is to be an arbitrator free from the complications in this sensitive area, as it should be in many other areas too.
Michel Theys
*** GEORG MIRIBUNG: The Modernisation of the Rules Implementing Art 81 and Art 82 ECT and its Implications for Italy. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Internet: http: //http://www.peterlang.net ). "European University Studies series - Europäische Hochschulschriften -Universitaires européennes" Publications, No. 4052. 2004, 243 pp.. IDBN 3-631-53086-2.
The result of a doctoral thesis at the University of Innsbruck's Faculty of Law, this book makes a vigorous intellectual plunge into two articles at the heart of European competition policy. Georg Miribung begins by locating the historical importance of this Union policy before examining the economic sectors that escape from the field of application of these two articles that attack the cartels and abuses created by dominant positions. In the second part, he focuses on the modernisation process activated under Mario Monti by deciphering the reasons for it and the weakness it contains. He examines the decentralisation phenomenon, which now sees the Commission drawing on the support of the competent authorities, administrative and legal, of the Member States. This assessment leads him to conclude that a coherent and consistent application of competition law is not endangered by its end result. After looking at the consequences of reforms of the European Court of Justice and Court of First Instance, the author examines the impact of reform of the competent national authorities in light of knowledge unearthed in Italy, which demonstrates the difficulties decentralisation can cause for each of them in their ability to act effectively in problems resulting from their cooperation with the Commission. In conclusion, the book is a very comprehensive and balanced examination of one of the Union's essential polices.
(MT)
*** STEFAN GRILLER, MICHAEL HOLOUBEK: Europäisches und öffentliches Wirtschaftsrecht I et II. Springer Verlag KG (4-6 Sachsenplatz, A-1201 Vienna. Tel: (43-1) 330 2415-0 - fax 3302426 - Email: springer@springer.at - Internet: http: //http://www.springer.at ). "Edition Springer Notes Rechtswissenschaft du Forschungsinstitut für Europafragen & Institut für Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsrecht der Wirtschaftsuniversität Vienna " series 2004, 296 pp . (vol. I) and 300 pp. (vol. II), € 25 (vol. I) and €25 (vol. II). ISBN 3-211-22408-4 (vol. I) and 3-211-22409-2 (vol. II).
The new updated issues of these two didactic publications, produced by Lecturers from the Economic University of Vienna, provide a practical and concrete introduction to Austrian and European public economic law. The first volume is based on an introductory course in economic science at the wirtschaftsuniversität, and focuses on administrative procedures, fundamental economic laws, the European common market, European competition law, external trade law and national budget law in monetary union. The two books are clearly formatted and contain a number of tables and graphs, as well as a series of questions on the content, and in the first volume, by a glossary of the basic legal terms and a small research guide for the legal database on the internet. Telematic assistance is also available. They contain a wealth of essential elements in law and economy for students tackling the main thrust of the subject and are also useful for the layman.
(PB)
*** CORNELIA GERSTER (Editor): Kreditwirtschaftlich wichtige Vorhaben der EU. Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands (VÖB-Service GmbH, Postfach 20 13 55, D-53143 Bonn. Tel: (49-228) 8192-119 - fax: 8192-234 - E-mail: postmaster@voeb.de - Internet: http: //http://www.voeb.de ). 2004, 335 pp.. ISBN 3-927535-16-8.
This annual report by the Association of Public Banks in Germany on legislation and European policies affecting the banking sector is now in its twelfth edition. It contains the draft directive on consumer credit, the third directive tackling money laundering and the action plan on contract law. As always, the publication presents and analyses in a precise and standardised way, more than a hundred directives, regulations and communications from the Union on banking law, stock market and financial law, as well as commercial and company law, consumer protection, capital flows, taxation, payments and of course, economic and monetary union. It contains a highly comprehensive table of all the pertinent legislation, as well as detailed graphs on “Lamfalussy” type co-decision procedure which completes the book. It is a useful reference guide for practitioners and researchers and is accompanied by a cd-rom with all the contents, as well as the texts of some regulations and directives. It is a model for this genre and contains precise explanations, which are clear understandable despite the complexity of the subject and the technical nature of the cases it deals with.
(PB)
*** MELANIE GUERREIRO, ANNE VINCENT, MARCUS WUNDERLE: La propriété intellectuelle. Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 2110180 - fax: 2197934 - E-mail: crisp@cfwb.be - Internet: http://www.crisp.be ). "Dossiers du Crisp" series, No. 61. 2004, 90 pp, EUR 7.50. ISBN 2-87075091-9.
Inventions, brands, designs and models, geographical indications of origin, literary and artistic productions requiring protection etc: intellectual property is now an integral part of our life, even if few citizens are really aware of this legal reality. For some, it constitutes an obstacle to the diffusion of knowledge; for others it is an essential instrument in cultural, social and economic growth in the different Member States. This dossier du Crisp initially sets about defining and clarifying this concept. It then describes the different legislation at international, European and national levels (Belgian on this occasion) which are inter-connected and on which compromises are established in an attempt to respond to the different interests of those holding copyright, as well as end-users, consumers, investors, management companies and governments throughout the world. The writers of this study in this context, scrutinise the use of the concept by the different economic actors. In the second part of the study, the publication demonstrates the use of the concept by the different economic actors. Managing rights in this domain is increasingly professionalised in an effort to maximise profits, and the authors of the study show how legislation in this era of new technology is being contested and becoming more difficult to implement, while the new fields of copyright (human and software patents) application expand their reach.
(PBo)
*** PIERRE JADOUL, ALAIN STROWEL (Editors): Les droits intellectuels: développements récents. Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Distribution: Accès+, 4 Fond Jean Pâques, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve. Tel: (32-10) 482500 - fax: 482519 - E-mail: acces+cde@deboeck.be - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). 2004, 186p p. €58. ISBN 2-8044-1702-6.
This book is an extension to the previous edition and provides it with additional clarity for the legal experts involved in issues linked to the range of protection offered by the most recent intellectual property developments: copyright, brands, designs and models. It provides a brief insight into the Community structure (Directive 2004/48) on intellectual property. Ms Andrée Puttemans initially tackles rights of appealing when intellectual property rights have been infringed, the hazards involved in exercising one's rights, as well as the relationship between counterfeiting and unfair competition. Mr Jean-Jo Evrard looks at the range of Community jurisprudence on distinctive signs and brands, as well as explaining protection conditions for a given logo or sign or when a brand has had its copyrights infringed. Alain Strowel and Charles-Henri Massa analyse the new Community and Benelux legislative framework incorporating designs and models and explain how companies can protect the external aspects of a product on the market and what forms of protection are possible. The publication brings together contributions made at a legal conference at Saint-Louis University in Brussels. The publication is clearly aimed at legal practitioners or experts.
(PBo)
*** PASCAL MINNE, SAMI DOENIAS: Planification fiscale internationale des sociétés belges. Larcier (see address attached). "Bibliothèque fiscale de la Solvay Business School" series. 2004, 724 p., €135. ISBN 2-8044-1676-3.
In an effort to avoid being taxed twice and to be able to benefit from the opportunities offered by the different tax legislations, every company has an interest in studying international fiscal planning and activities. This publication is edited by specialists and is produced for specialists: tax experts, specialist lawyers and corporate legal experts. It also provides a thorough theoretical analysis by outlining the general principles and major concepts (residency for tax purposes, methods of exemption and imputation, rulings etc.). it also reviews European law in this field, legal developments regarding direct taxation, as well as the draft directive on fiscal consolidation and the fiscal jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and a host of other directives. In a similar way it examines international agreements and provisions prevailing in Belgium. In the second part of the publication, the contributors look at three different areas of major concern for companies: repatriation of income at minimum tax rates (through intermediary holding companies and financial bodies), ways for avoiding “transfer price” traps and how to benefit from state tax incentives. Nonetheless, the authors of the book are keen to point out that this is a “scientific” book and in no way a “catalogue” of ways to evade taxes.
(MT)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** L'Agenda social 2005-2010 - A Social Europe in the World Economy of Jobs and New Opportunities for All. DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. March 2005, 29 p.. ISBN 92-894-9149-3.
The Lisbon Strategy has just undergone a mid-tern review. In light of the review and given the economic and social context of the period, the Commission decided to set up a social agenda for 2005-10, at the end of last year when the new Commission began its mandate. It wants this Agenda to be indispensable to the Lisbon strategy and that it enables everyone to benefit from the results of the dynamic of growth and employment in the Union. The Agenda for 2005-10 also defines the Commission's commitments in the area of social policy and employment. But above all, it tackles the most important issues, in the eyes of the Union's citizens, such as pensions, healthcare, social security and conciliation between professional and private lives. The first pages of this document present the reasons behind the initiative, its philosophy and the agenda's objectives; the remainder focus on the Commission's communication (the agenda in itself), as well as useful references and links.
*** Bulletin de l'Observatoire des politiques économiques en Europe. Pôle européen de gestion et d'économie (61 av. de la Forêt Noire, F-67085 Strasbourg Cedex. E-mail: thierry.stolle@urs.u-strasbg.fr - Internet: http//opee.u-strasbg.fr). Spring 2005, No. 12, 44 pp.
This bulletin focuses on the Constitutional Treaty. The authors, convinced Europeans, recognise the benefits of the triple perspective it provides - long term ambition; a vector for peace and prosperity; culture and constructive compromises; a certain collective legitimacy, and provide a critical approach of the exclusively economic issues in the draft. They examine the support provided by the Commission to the European model, its impact on monetary policy and budgetary policies; its influence on external trade and industrial issues and its implications for the regions. The bulletin has a number of reservations about the “the place of a neo-liberal doctrine in European construction” and the “retreat of politics in European economic choices to the advantage of rules imposed in Member States”.
*** Free Trade, Free Markets -Rating the 108th Congress. Cato Institute - Center for Trade Policy Studies (1000 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington,D.C. 20001. Tel: (1-202) 8420200 - fax: 8423490 - E-mail: ctps@cato.org - Internet: http: //http://www.freetrade.org ). “ Trade Policy Analysis”. March 2005, No 28, 48 pp, 6 dollars.
This publication by the Cato Institute, which aims to "improve public understanding of the benefits of free trade and the costs of protectionism", provides a study of the members of the US congress in terms of four categories: free traders; internationalists; isolationists and interventionists. It turns out that few can be described as free traders, according to the criteria of the study.
*** Parität EU- Report. EU-Repräsentanz der Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverbandes (159 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2381000 - fax: 2381009 - E-mail: eu.bruessel@paritaet.org). 2005, No 1, 30pp..
This first issue of the year, Parität EU- Report, focuses on two themes that have provoked much discussion in Brussels recently, the draft directive on liberalisation of services and the re-orientation of the Lisbon Strategy, in light of the Kok report. Many other subjects are discussed in the publication's usual sections: healthcare, social, trade and institutional policies. There is, for example, the European conference on diabetes, the results of the European Youth Policy mid-term review, the “Green Paper” on migration of workers and the setting up of an Agency for Fundamental Rights.
*** Inland Navigation Europe: Annual Report 2004. Inland Navigation Europe (Compte de Ferraris, 20 avenue Roi Albert II, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5536270 - fax: 5536272 - E-mail: info@inlandnavigation.org - Internet: http://www.inlandnavigation.org ). 2005, No. 1, 30pp..
River transport constitutes a crucial means of communication for Europe. Its role and share of European transport are also expected to grow, particularly due to the increase in intermodal transport. This report examines river transport in 2004 and looks at the Commission proposal, River Information Services.