Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Real property – european union countries »

A property tax (or millage tax) is a levy on real estate that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the real estate property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state, a county or geographical region, or a municipality. Multiple jurisdictions may tax the same property. This is in contrast to a rent and mortgage tax, which is based on a percentage of the rent or mortgage value. There are four broad types of property: land, improvements to land (immovable man-made objects, such as buildings), personal property (movable man-made objects), and intangible property. Real property (also called real estate or realty) means the combination of land and improvements. Under a property tax system, the government requires and/or performs an appraisal of the monetary value of each property, and tax is assessed in proportion to that value. Forms of property tax used vary among countries and jurisdictions. Real property is often taxed based on its classification. Classification is the grouping of properties based on similar use. Real estate properties in different classes are taxed at different rates. Examples of different classes of property are residential, commercial, industrial and vacant real property. In Israel, for example, property tax rates are double for vacant apartments versus occupied apartments.

Introduction. In the modern conditions of economic development, an important task is to study the specific features of real estate tax administration in the European Union in order to implement best practices in the Ukrainian system, especially during martial condition and postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. European experience shows that the real estate tax, using the right approach, can become one of the important provisions of the revenue side of budgets at various levels. The purpose of the paper is to substantiate the theoretical and applied provisions of real estate taxation in the European Union and the formation of measures for effective administration of real estate tax in modern Ukrainian fiscal practice. Results. The paper examines the current features of real estate taxation in the European Union. Emphasis is placed on specific procedures for applying real estate tax rates in some European countries. A comparative analysis of the elements of real estate tax in the European Union and Ukraine is conducted. The monitoring of system-wide trends in the development of property taxation in the European Union and Ukraine revealed a high degree of compliance of domestic and European property tax systems. In particular, in Ukraine, as well as in the EU member states, there is an increasing role of property taxes in the fiscal policy of the state and municipalities. Attention is drawn to the controversial provisions and prospects of riches taxation, which can serve as a potential in solution budget problems of national economies. Conclusions. The actual normative positions on optimization of property taxation in Ukraine in the conditions of martial condition are systematized. The conducted research made it possible to form scenarios for strengthening the fiscal potential of the real estate tax in Ukraine, taking into account the experience of the European Union in the period of economic recovery.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to contribute to the relatively narrow existing residential real estate literature by developing and validating several univariate forecasting models, to reliably anticipate future house price dynamics across several European Union (EU) countries. Design/methodology/approach The research approach relies on the time series analysis, by using the Box–Jenkins autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) methodology to explore the trends of residential property prices in selected EU countries and to obtain a snapshot of the potential signs of change to be witnessed by domestic residential markets on a short time-period. The analysis has been performed distinctly for each country in the sample, to account for country-specific past and future trends as well as similarities in their house price growth rate evolutions. The models were estimated for a broad sample of quarterly observations during 1990-2015, while the forecast horizon ranged between the third quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2016. Findings The findings suggested that residential property prices’ real growth rate can be modeled through the Box–Jenkins method for France, The Netherlands, Sweden and UK. The pattern of Italy’s residential property prices’ real growth rate cannot be explained by means of univariate ARIMA models, being more suited for multivariate models. Originality/value The article subscribes to the need for timely, high-frequency and quality data about house price trends in Europe, to increase the accuracy of forecasts and prevent the appearance of bubbles on real estate market. It compares residential property prices’ dynamics across European countries to identify housing markets with similar patterns of their prices.

Since the 1960s, there has been discussion regarding the introduction of a flexible real estate pledge law in Europe that could serve to ensure security above all for cross-border loans. Although this issue is not currently undergoing detailed analysis, due to a number of significant changes in variousEuropean legislations, including in Polish law, anticipating new solutions in mortgage law, it is worth considering anew whether they and which ones might constitute a possible model for future security in rem in European Union law. The first section of the article outlines the historical background of solutions breaking with the Roman model of accessory pledge rights, and presents a few selected modern mortgage systems, in which there has been a significant departure from the principle of pendency of collateral security on real estate above all the German, Slovenia, Swiss, French, Estonian and Hungarian systems. Slovenian practice may be taken as an example of solutions that have not worked out in practice due to abuses related to the establishing of a non-accessory pledge right to the detriment of creditors seeking the satisfaction of other debts from the property of the owner of the encumbered property.

The purpose of this article is to compare the property tax systems applied in the European Union countries in the context of the proposed tax reform in Poland. In addition, an attempt was made at identifying the advantages and disadvantages of this reform. The results of the analyses allow us to conclude that the experience of the countries where the cadastral property taxation system is applied corroborates the validity of introducing such a system in Poland. The importance of the cadastral property tax in terms of budgetary revenues in individual EU countries varies because of the different way of determining the so-called property tax value (the tax value of the real estate). Nevertheless, determination of the tax in relation to the value of the property will allow for a more equitable distribution of the tax burden, especially with the application of a tax relief and preference system for taxpayers. The related literature exposes certain social unrest associated with the increase of the tax burden due to the introduction of the cadastral tax. However, it should be noted that, as a consequence, such burden will be correlated with the financial situation of the taxpayer. In addition, the possible increase in the tax revenues paid to the local government budgets is hardly a negative effect of the proposed tax reform, while the high cost of the creation of cadastre, perceived as a disadvantage, is a natural consequence of economic changes in the country, in particular, in the case of justified future benefits.

The paper examines the formation of local taxation system in Ukraine. It has been established that the number of local taxes and fees has been significantly reduced due to the evolution in the local taxation system. Currently the list of local taxes and fees comprises two local taxes, namely the property tax and the single tax, as well as two local fees including the tourist fee and the vehicle parking fee. It is determined that the basis for local budget revenues is formed by the tax receipts which tend to increase, with the simultaneous decrease in proceeds from state administration bodies. The personal income tax is considered to be the one having the strongest effect on the formation of local budget revenues. The analysis results determine that tax revenues from local taxes and fees have a growing tendency, however they are not budget-forming for the local budgets so far. The overall increase tax revenues to local budgets are observed from the property tax and a decrease in its component – transport tax. Local fees are proved to have a negligible effect on the formation of local budget revenues. It was determined that the local authorities have no power to lay local taxes and fees, preventing them to influence the amount of tax revenues to their budgets. The administration of local taxes and fees is negatively affected by the war, since real estate objects are exempt from taxation, and there observed a decline in the entrepreneurial activity. The insufficient work of local self-government bodies in attracting local taxation opportunities provided by the decentralization reform to strengthen the local budgets financial capacity has been substantiated in the study. It is proposed to strengthen the local self-government bodies’ role in the administration of local taxes and fees, in particular by giving them an opportunity to independently choose the objects of taxation on their territories.

The subject of this research is the theoretical and practical aspects of legal qualification of virtual property – digital online objects (cryptocurrencies, game property, user accounts, etc.) in Russia and abroad. Virtual property is viewed through the prism of the concept of “asset” / “economic asset”, established in the national and foreign legislation and doctrine. Real right to game objects in online games are considered through the lens of John Locke’s labor theory of property (acquisition), M. Radin’s theory of personality, theories of utilitarianism (deterrence of negative behavior and economic efficiency), law enforcement practices and legislation (South Korea, China, etc.). Real right to online accounts (Google, Yahoo etc.) are examined in the context of allowability of transferring personal and business accounts from the perspective of property and conventional law. The relevance, theoretical and practical importance of this research is are substantiated by supplementing the tangible objects of proprietary right with digital, created in modern reality with the use of digital technologies (cryptocurrencies, tokens, etc.), which requires clarification of their legal regime in the context of the effective legislation of the Russian Federation and foreign countries, ideas for its amendment, and law enforcement practice. The author concludes that the legal doctrine of a number of countries, distinguishing tangible and intangible, virtual objects (game objects, user accounts) recognized the existence and legal status of virtual property (Hong Kong, European Union, South Korea, Russian Federation, Taiwan), qualifying it as the analogue of digital information and content; legally - movable (Taiwan) or other (Russian Federation) property; property (the European Court of Human Rights) or utilitarian (mandatory) digital (Russian Federation) rights; economically – virtual (financial, in form of future income), and material (in form of commercial ties, domain names, etc.) assets (the European Court of Human Rights, Russian Federation).

Abstract The aim of this paper is to identify the impacts of different taxes and expenditures on economic growth. The research is focused on 20 selected European Union Member States. These countries are equally divided into four groups based on their average tax burden as presented in the World Tax Index. A comparison of fiscal attributes among these groups is important for the analysis. Annual government finance data from the years 1995 to 2012 are used for an empirical study. The indicators observed are real GDP change, the composition and volume of total government expenditures, tax quotas of individual taxes and total budget balance. These indicators are used within an endogenous growth model together with capital stock and an approximation of human capital. A panel regression with fixed effects is used as an analytic tool. The main results are that an increase in social contributions, property, production and personal income tax quotas has an adverse effect on economic growth.

Nowadays, the contemporary concept of intellectual property rights is a challenging problem, because it includes many ideas like innovation, invention, copyright, trademark and creativity and/or others of this kind. The legislation of intellectual property right is one of the most challenging ones not only in Albania but also in the most developed countries. A successful entrepreneur (Craig Venter) thinks that it is the key to the economic development and prosperity. Intellectual property plays a crucial role while being applied in business, biotechnology and artificial intelligence. Its legislation is very recent and needs to be updated or modified so that countries should be able to anticipate any gaps of the legal framework that may be generated in future due to innovation and invention. Soon, Albania is going to join the European Union, so addition to the efforts to ratify the domestic legislation with the Acquis Communautaire, the government is facing with another huge challenge. According to the international reports “Mapping the Real Routes of Trade in Fake Goods”, the country has become a main path for international transit regarding counterfeit goods. The vigilance of domestic intuitions is underperforming they are incapable to stop this phenomenon.

Purpose of the article is to present the problem of applying the state aid rules (binding in EU) to the nonharmonized taxes such as property taxes, which differ strongly between Member States. The tax exemption from the real estate tax for the railway infrastructure which was introduced in Poland will be a subject to the investigation of Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). CJEU should answer to the question if the tax exemption from property tax in one Member State may be treated as a prohibited benefit granted to the entrepreneurs, having in mind that the same kind of property may be taxed significantly lower, or even not taxed at all in the other EU Member States. The verdict of CJEU will be important for the Polish entrepreneurs, but also will be significant for the tax policy in the EU. In case of the CJEU judgment declaring that the property tax exemption introduced by Poland constitutes illegal state aid it will be necessary to consider whether countries that do not tax the certain categories of property (or tax them at a very low level) do not grant illegal state aid to their entrepreneurs.

La réalisation du marché intérieur européen par une meilleure intégration des marchés financiers est aujourd’hui devenue une réalité. L'objectif est toutefois loin d'être atteint en matière de crédit hypothécaire, nonobstant de nombreuses initiatives européennes. Compte tenu de ces difficultés et du postulat selon lequel il serait impossible d'harmoniser le droit des suretés immobilières en raison de leur ancrage culturel et national, une proposition alternative consistant dans la création d'une sûreté immobilière commune (euro-hypothèque), venant se superposer aux systèmes nationaux, a été formulée depuis un certain nombre d'années. La recherche analyse dans un premier temps la réalité du postulat précité à la lumière du droit comparé et conclut qu'en réalité, les différents systèmes trouvent non seulement leur origine dans un modèle identique, fondé sur le caractère accessoire de la sûreté, mais ont en outre connu une évolution similaire au cours de ces dernières années. Il apparaît que ce modèle constitue la meilleure base pour toute harmonisation européenne. Après avoir examiné l'interaction avec le droit international privé, sous l'angle de la protection du consommateur, et le droit européen, sous l'angle de la question de la compétence communautaire et du principe de subsidiarité, des pistes sont proposés pour opérer un rapprochement des législations nationales relatives au crédit hypothécaire. La proposition consiste à intégrer dans un seul instrument juridique contraignant (une directive européenne) les différentes propositions permettant d'opérer un rapprochement des législations nationales à trois niveaux :celui de la sûreté immobilière et de la publicité foncier, celui du contrat de prêt et enfin, celui relatif à la procédure de réalisation de l'immeuble.
Doctorat en droit
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cette thèse s’intéresse au défi que représente le rattrapage des niveaux de prix pour la stabilité macroéconomique des pays en transition d’Europe centrale et orientale, dans la perspective de leur future participation à la zone euro. A cet égard, une modélisation du taux de change réel d’équilibre suggère que l’appréciation réelle liée au rattrapage économique recouvre des évolutions de prix relatifs différentes suivant les régimes de change, dont témoignent des trajectoires d’endettement extérieur contrastées. Dans les économies en changes flexibles, la hausse du taux de change nominal favorise une appréciation endogène des termes de l’échange à moyen terme, en orientant les investissements directs étrangers et la réalisation des gains de productivité vers le secteur exposé de l’économie, ce qui se traduit par une appréciation du taux de change réel d’équilibre et une amélioration des comptes extérieurs. Dans les économies en changes fixes, les effets de valorisation liés à la hausse des prix relatifs domestiques tendent à orienter les investissements vers le secteur abrité de l’économie, entraînant une érosion de la compétitivité extérieure, dont témoigne le gonflement de la dette externe. Par ailleurs, l’intégration monétaire comporte des risques spécifiques pour la stabilité macroéconomique des économies en rattrapage, dans la mesure où elle s’accompagne d’un processus marqué de convergence des conditions de financement entre Etats membres, dès lors que la perspective de l’adhésion à l’espace monétaire commun devient crédible. Un modèle dynamique à anticipations rationnelles permet de montrer que face au choc de demande lié à une telle convergence financière, l’appréciation du taux de change nominal se révèle cruciale pour limiter la surchauffe de l’économie. A l’inverse, dans les économies en régime de change fixe, l’abaissement des primes de risque pays est susceptible de provoquer une montée de l’endettement extérieur, suivi d’enchaînements déflationnistes une fois dans l’union monétaire
This research investigates the challenges of price level catching-up for macroeconomic stability in Central and Eastern European transition countries seeking to enter the Euro area. In this respect, an equilibrium real exchange rate model suggests that the process of real appreciation observed along economic catching-up in these countries can be ascribed to different relative price developments, depending on the exchange rate regime, as exemplified by contrasted external debt trajectories. In flexible exchange rate economies, the increase in the nominal exchange rate fosters an endogenous appreciation of the terms of trade in the medium run, by channelling foreign direct investment and associated productivity gains to the exposed sector of the economy, thus appreciating the equilibrium real exchange rate and strengthening the current account over time. In fixed exchange rate economies, positive valuation effects associated with the increase in domestic relative prices tend to divert investment to the sheltered sector, thus undermining external competitiveness and bringing about higher external debt. Furthermore, monetary integration entails specific risks for macroeconomic stability in catching-up economies, because it implies a process of rapid convergence in the financing conditions across member States, which takes place as soon as the perspective of accession to the common monetary area appears credible. A dynamic, rational expectations model shows that the appreciation of the nominal exchange rate becomes crucial to curtail the economic overheating triggered by the demand shock associated with financial convergence. By contrast, diminishing country risk premia under fixed exchange rate regimes are likely to cause ‘boom bust’ cycles, with an increase in external indebtedness followed by deflationary developments once in the monetary union

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In October 1999 South Africa and the European Union (EU) signed a free trade agreement, the Trade Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), which came into effect on 1 January 2000. The TDCA was developed to enhance bilateral trade, economic-, political- and social cooperation and consists of three components - the creation of a Free Trade Area between South-Africa and the EU, EU financial aid to South Africa through the European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD), and project aid. However, the EU, in an effort to secure the best possible deal for itself, often behave in its own interests (through the manipulation of the Wine and Spirits Agreement) during the negotiations for the TDCA. The goal of this study was to establish what exactly trademarks are, and what implications the EU's protection of intellectual property rights on wine and spirits trademarks will have on i) the South African wine industry, ii) whether South Africa could have exercised another option, iii) whether this action has created a precedent with which the EU can, in future, again force South Africa or any of its other developing trade partners to make concessions, and iv) who gains the most from the TDCA. The concludes that the EU, through the manipulation of the Wine and Spirits Agreement, left South Africa with no choice by to concede the use of the contested trademarks - something that has already taken its toll on the South African wine industry - in order to save the TDCA. This action created a precedent that the EU will, in future, again be in a position to threaten developing countries with the termination of an agreement should they fail to comply with its demands. Finally, the conclusion is made that even though the TDCA was created to assist South Africa with its reintegration into the world market, it will ultimately be the EU that benefits most from the agreement.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika en die Europese Unie (EU) het in Oktober 1999 In vryehandelsooreenkoms, die Trade Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA) onderteken, wat op 1 Januarie 2000 in werking getree het. Die TDCA is ontwerp om bilaterale handel-, ekonomiese-, politieke- en sosiale samewerking te bevorder en bestaan uit drie komponente, naamlik die skep van 'n vryehandelgebied tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika; finansiele steun deur die EU aan Suid-Afrika onder die European Programme for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD) en projekhulp. Die EU het egter dikwels in eiebelang opgetree (deur middel van die manipulasie van die Wyn- en Spiritus Ooreenkoms) tydens die onderhandelingsproses in 'n poging om die beste moontlike ooreenkoms vir homself te beding. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal wat presies handelsmerke is, en watter implikasies die EU se beskerming van intellektuele eiendomsregte aangaande wyn- en spiritushandelsmerke op i) die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf sal he, ii) of Suid-Afrika 'n ander opsie kon uitoefen, iii) of hierdie aksie In presedent geskep het waarmee die EU Suid-Afrika of enige van sy ander ontwikkelende handelsvennote in die toekoms weer sal kan dwing om toegewings te maak, en iv) wie die meeste baat vind by die TDCA. Die studie het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die EU deur die manipulasie van die Wyn- en Spiritus Ooreenkoms aan Suid-Afrika geen keuse gegee het nie as om die gebruik van die betwiste handelsmerke op te se - iets wat reeds die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf geknou het - in 'n poging om die TDCA te behou. Hierdie optrede skep 'n presedent dat die EU voortaan in onderhandelings met ander ontwikkelende state weer kan dreig om die hele ooreenkoms te verongeluk indien daar nie aan sy eise voldoen word nie. In die laaste instansie is daar tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat, alhoewel die TDCA daarop gemik was om Suid-Afrika te help met sy herintegrasie tot die wereldmark, dit uiteindelik die EU is wat die meeste daarby gaan baat.

In literature it has been stated that in times of low capital barriers policies can impact real exchange rates (RERs) and, it has been shown that RERs influence foreign direct investment (FDI). As inward FDI is a growth stimulating factor for the German economy and as more than a third of inward FDI stems from countries in the European Union (EU), this study investigates the RER-FDI link between Germany and seven EU countries. The impact of bilateral RERs between Germany and seven EU countries on German net FDI inflows is examined for the period 1974-2018. Further, it is investigated how the euro introduction in 1999 affected the RER-FDI links. Using Ordinary Least Squares models it is found that in the pre-euro period a real German currency appreciation led to decreases in net FDI from most economies in scope. This negative RER-FDI link endures for the non-euro countries Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom after the euro introduction. France, Italy, and Spain, euro countries, are subject to the euro-effect: the negative RER-FDI link changes to a positive link with the euro introduction. This phenomenon indicates an altering investment behavior. The results are strengthened by a panel estimation as robustness check. As the euro-effect was not discovered in previous studies nor is a theory established explaining the altering investment behavior of euro firms, this thesis suggests an alternative explanation.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 1999.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) between the European Union and the Republic of South Africa, which was concluded in October 1999. In particular, the agreement is analysed in the light of the negotiating process between the parties, the contents of the agreement, the applicability of WTO law and the compatibility of the agreement with it and the Port and Sherry Agreement. Since the EU emphasised its aim to commence economic and development cooperation with other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on a reciprocal basis during the negotiations for a successor of the Lomé Convention, the TDCA between the EU and South Africa had to be seen as a "pilot project" for future cooperation agreements between countries at different levels of development. The TDCA between the EU and South Africa is therefore not only very important for the two concerned parties, but could serve as an example for further negotiations between the EU and other ACP countries. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to examine the TDCA between the EU and South Africa from a wider global perspective. The thesis is divided into six Chapters: The first Chapter provides an introduction to the circumstances under which the negotiations between the EU and South Africa commenced. It deals briefly with the economic situation in South Africa during the apartheid era and presents reasons why the parties wanted to enter into bilateral negotiations. The introductory part furthermore presents an overview of the contents of the thesis. The second chapter contains a detailed description of the negotiating process that took place between the parties and shows why it took 43 months and 21 rounds of negotiations to reach a deal. South Africa's partial accession to the Lomé Convention and the conclusion of separate agreements such as the Wine and Spirits Agreement, are also analysed. Chapter three presents the various components of the TOCA and illustrates what the negotiators achieved. This chapter on the TOCA concludes with an evaluation of the Agreement and shows the potential benefits to South Africa and the EU. Since the Agreement had to satisfy international rules, the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradelWorld Trade Organisation (GATTIWTO) were of major importance. The EC Treaty, however, does not contain any provision that indicates whether, or how, an international agreement like the GATTIWTO penetrates the Community legal order. In Chapter four, accordingly, questions are raised regarding the extent to which the bilateral agreement between South Africa and the EU was influenced by the GATTIWTO provisions and how these rules were incorporated into the agreement. Furthermore, since the parties agreed on the establishment of a free trade area, this chapter deals with the question of in how far the TOCA is in line with Article XXIV GATT. In addition to the GATT provisions, the TOCA is also affected by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Therefore Chapter five deals with TRIPs in connection with the TOCA. The use of the terms "Port" and "Sherry" as the major stumbling block to the conclusion of the TOCA is analysed more closely. The final part, namely Chapter six, provides a summary of the results of the investigation. Furthermore, a conclusion is provided with regard to the question of whether the TOeA can be seen as an example for further trade relations between the EU and other ACP countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is gerig op die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms (TDGA) tussen die Europese Unie (EU) en die Republiek van Suid Afrika wat in Oktober 1999 gesluit is. Die ooreenkoms word veral in die lig van die onderhandelingsproses tussen die partye, die inhoud van die ooreenkoms, die toepaslikheid van Wêreldhandelsorganisasiereg en die versoenbaarheid daarvan met die ooreenkoms en die Port en Sjerrie-ooreenkoms ontleed. Aangesien die EU sy oogmerk van wederkerige ekonomiese en ontwikkelings-gerigte samewerking met ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-Eilande gedurende die onderhandelings vir 'n opvolger van die Lomé Konvensie beklemtoon het, moes die ooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika as 'n "loodsprojek" vir toekomstige samewerkingsooreenkomste tussen lande wat op verskillende vlakke van onwikkeling is, gesien word. Die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika is dus nie net baie belangrik vir die betrokke partye nie, maar dit kan ook as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere onderhandelings tussen die EU en lande van Afrika en die Karibiese- en Stille Oseaan-Eilande dien. Die doel van dié tesis is om die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewekingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika vanuit 'n meer globale perspektief te beskou. Die tesis is in ses Hoofstukke ingedeel: Die eerste hoofstuk bied 'n inleiding tot die omstandighede waaronder die onderhandelings tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika begin het. Dit behandel die Suid- Afrikaanse ekonomiese situasie onder apartheid kortliks en toon hoekom die partye tweesydige onderhandelings wou aanknoop. Verder bied die inleidende deel 'n oorsig oor die inhoud van die tesis. Die tweede hoofstuk bevat 'n gedetailleerde beskrywing van die onderhandelingsproses wat tussen die partye plaasgevind het en toon aan waarom dit drie-en-veertig maande geduur het en een-en-twintig onderhandelingsrondtes gekos het om die saak te beklink. Suid-Afrika se gedeeltelike toetrede tot die Lomé Konvensie en die sluit van aparte ooreenkomste soos die Port- en Sjerrieooreenkoms word ook ontleed. Die daaropvolgende hoofstuk bespreek die verskillende komponente van die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms en toon wat die onderhandelaars bereik het. Hierdie hoofstuk oor die Ooreenkoms sluit af met 'n evaluering daarvan en dui die potensiële voordele van die Ooreenkoms vir Suid- Afrika en die EU aan. Aangesien die Ooreenkoms internasionale reëls moes tevrede stel, was die voorskrifte van die Algemene Ooreenkoms oor Tariewe en Handel (GATT) van uiterste belang. Die EG-verdrag bevat egter geen voorskrif wat aandui óf, of hoé, 'n internasionale ooreenkoms soos GATTNVTO die regsorde van die Europese Gemeenskap binnedring nie. Die vraag oor in hoeverre die tweesydige ooreenkoms tussen Suid-Afrika en die EU deur die GATTIWTO voorskrifte beïnvloed is, en oor hoe hierdie reëls in die ooreenkoms opgeneem is, word dus in Hoofstuk vier aangeraak. Aangesien die partye ooreengekom het om 'n vrye handeisarea tot stand te bring, behandel hierdie hoofstuk ook die vraag oor in hoeverre die TOGA met Artikel XXIV GATT strook. Tesame met die GATT-voorskrifte word die TOGA ook deur die Ooreenkoms ten opsigte van Handelsverwante Aspekte van Intellektuele Eiendomsreg (TRIPs) geraak. Hoofstuk vyf behandel daarom hierdie aspek ten opsigte van die TOGA. Die gebruik van die terme "Port" en "Sjerrie" as die vernaamste struikelblok tot die sluiting van die TOG-ooreenkoms word ook deegliker ontleed. Die laaste gedeelte, naamlik Hoofstuk ses, bied 'n opsomming van die resultate van die ondersoek. Verder word 'n gevolgtrekking voorsien ten opsigte van vraag of die TOGA as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere handelsverwantskappe tussen die EU en ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-eilande beskou kan word.

Diploma thesis concerns about legal regulations of real estate by new civil codex with reflection to the previous and international legal regulation.The aim of the thesis is to assess the functionality of new civil code and its benefits in the real estate investment transactions in Czech Republic. This analysis is supported with overview of transfrontier real estate acquisitions made by foreign investors in Czech Republic and additionally also real estate investments of Czech investors abroad. This thesis therefore tries to provide answers to multiple questions ranging from analysis of new civil codex regulation, its impacts, risks and functionality then secondly its similarities in comparison to foreign law regulation (of Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Italy and France). From the perspective of transfrontier real estate acquisitions this thesis concerns about law acknowledgement for foreigner parties in real estate transactions in Czech Republic and counterbalance of the similar rights on the side of Czech residents in reciprocal acquisition process. The analysis is supported by the debate of accuracy of either liberal or protectionist attitude to foreign real estate investors' regulation with a reflection to current international political, sociological and economical course of events.

Defence date: 21 May 2018
Examining Board: Prof. Giorgio Monti, EUI (EUI Supervisor) ; Prof. Urska Šadl, EUI ; Prof. Inge Govaere, College of Europe, Bruges ; Prof. Alison Jones, King's College, London
This PhD thesis deals with IP-competition conflicts and how the EU Courts have addressed them over time. It seeks to answer the question of how the reasoning of EU Courts in these cases has been affected by three crucial evolutionary moments in EU law: (1) the Europeanization of IP law (2) the modernization of EU competition law and (3) the elevation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to a primary source of EU law. The first two chapters provide the theoretical framework of the thesis. The first chapter provides a detailed overview of the three crucial evolutionary moments in EU law mentioned above. The second chapter provides an overview of theories about the legal reasoning of EU Courts and about the different approaches that the courts have adopted when deciding IP-competition conflicts. Five such approaches, or judicial lenses, are identified: an economics, a conflict of laws, a conflict of competences, a constitutional and a private law approach. It is shown that these five different approaches can be linked to the three evolutionary moments at the IP-competition interface in EU law. Chapters three to five trace the theoretical insights from the first two chapters in three case studies on specific business methods having given rise to IP-competition conflicts before EU Courts: (i) selective distribution systems, (ii) digital platforms and restrictions of access, and (iii) lock-in strategies on aftermarkets, in particular in the online environment. The case studies analyse how these comparable factual situations of IP-competition conflicts have been treated on the one hand under EU competition law and on the other under EU IP law. In each case study, the legal reasoning is identified and compared between EU competition and IP law. The main finding in the case studies is that EU Courts treat the spheres of EU competition law and IP law as wholly separate. This has led to quite diverging approaches in comparable cases of IP-competition conflicts depending on whether the cases are brought under EU competition law or IP law, jeopardizing the systemic coherence of EU law and disturbing the CJEU’s dialogue with national ii courts. This situation is not sustainable. In an economic environment where the EU’s economies are increasingly depending on e-commerce and digital assets often protected by IP, IP-competition conflicts are bound to increase. To ensure a legal environment that provides legal certainty and equal conditions for firms to thrive across EU Member States without hurting consumers, a more coherent and improved methodological guidance on how to address IP-competition conflicts is needed. The aim of this thesis is to provide a first step in this direction.

AbstractThe chapter focuses on the consequences of EU politicization on electoral behaviour. It investigates whether and under which conditions EU citizens consider their EU positions when casting a vote in national elections. First, we use a conjoint experiment to investigate the magnitude of EU issue voting in six EU countries. This design allows us to cope with possible endogeneity problems while simulating the complexity of the task faced by real voters. Second, we link the media data presented in the previous chapters to the experiment’s results to explore how EU issue voting is influenced by the informational context. The main results and several robustness checks show that in almost all the countries analysed respondents are more likely to vote for a party that shares their own position on the EU than for a party that does not. However, it seems that not all types of voter-party incongruence have the same electoral consequences. Finally, the findings also suggest a relationship between media content and EU issue voting.

AbstractThis chapter explores the influence of technology on traditional components of inheritance. An increasing amount of social interaction takes place online. Consequently, people accumulate large quantities of digital assets. Some of these assets have a considerable material value, while others might have emotional value for the family of a decedent. They might also have historical value for society in general. However, from the standpoint of inheritance law, in many countries it is unclear what happens to digital assets after their owner/user dies. These assets represent a new type of “property” and few legislators around the world have regulated them specifically. The need to implement these assets into inheritance law is why it is important for law students to be familiar with the concept of digital assets, understand their categories, as well as the differences between them. The chapter also considers possible solutions on what will happen to them, post mortem. To map the landscape for the readers, the chapter divides digital assets into four comprehensive groups and explains what happens to each of these digital assets post mortem. This chapter also lists the reasons why some of these assets cannot be inherited and possible problems with inheritance of those digital assets that are inheritable.

AbstractThe Once-Only Principle requires the public administrations to ensure that citizens and businesses supply the same information only once to the Public Administration as a whole. Widespread use of the Once-Only Principle has the potential to simplify citizens’ life, make businesses more efficient, and reduce administrative burden in the European Union. The Once-Only Principle project (TOOP) is an initiative, financed by the EU Program Horizon 2020, to explore the possibility to enable the cross-border application of the Once-Only Principle by demonstrating it in practice, through the development of selected piloting applications for specific real-world use cases, enabling the connection of different registries and architectures in different countries for better exchange of information across public administrations. These piloting ICT systems are designed as a result of a pan-European collaboration and they adopt a federated model, to allow for a high degree of independence between the participating parties in the development of their own solutions. The main challenge in the implementation of an OOP solution is the diversity of organizations, procedures, data, and services on all four main levels of interoperability: legal, organizational, semantic, and technical. To address this challenge, TOOP is developing and testing the TOOP Reference Architecture (TOOPRA) to assist organizations in the cross-border implementation of the OOP. The paper outlines the TOOPRA users, principles, and requirements, presents an overview of the architecture development, describes the main views of TOOPRA, discusses architecture profiling, and analyses the TOOPRA sustainability issues.

AbstractThis book is the result of the first 3 years of the comparative and multidisciplinary Jean Monnet Network, “Crisis-Equity-Democracy for Europe and Latin America”, of senior academics and policy advisors from four European and three Latin American countries, including experts on the European Union and Latin American regionalism. The rationale of the project and the common link is that both Europe and Latin America can learn from their respective experiences on “crisis”, its management and the distributive and democratic implications at national and regional level. The main purposes of the joint research can be summarised as to (1) locate in the current global financial system as one of the very major causes of the financial and debt crises in the EU and Latin America; (2) demonstrate the impact of the paradigm change on global and EU economic governance; (3) analyse key systemic aspects of the global crisis, i.e. climate change, macro-financial instability and the weakening of democracy and their inter-connections; (4) map and evaluate how both regions and individual countries within both regions have tried to manage these crises; (5) discuss the economic, political and social effects of these crises on both regions and individual countries; (6) finally, to make policy suggestions on how to transition from finance capitalism to a more sustainable real capitalism, on how both regions can better manage/govern/respond to such systemic pressures and on how they can increase their cooperation.

The conclusion of contracts was known in ancient times and is still relevant today. Shares that are not distributed in kind can cause certain difficulties that force the interested parties to decide on distribution.Joint ownership of inherited property received from a family member necessitates joint decision-making on its maintenance, ownership, use, and disposal, and it is difficult to achieve such a consensus on all issues. Therefore, quite often a certain period may pass from the acquisition of the right to a share in the joint property to its distribution, but due to conflicts regarding the use of the property or in the case of the need to receive funds or for other reasons, the joint property is divided by the co-owners. That is, the reasons may even be questions of how to use agricultural land, for example, to rent it out, sow it yourself, plant a garden, etc. However, the complexity of the division of land plots is because it is difficult to «divide» agricultural lands at least. After all, their intended use depends on the size, etc. Quite often, disputes also arise regarding the use of residential buildings, since the size and location of the rooms make their use impossible or difficult, as well as the distribution in kind according to the inherited shares. In other words, there is a certain «trading» of assets. If the situation is related to the distribution of a small plot of land where the house is located, then questions also arise regarding the establishment of an easement, as well as mutual concessions for the compensation of a part of the house in exchange for most of the land. In general, there are protracted negotiations, from the point of view of which these parties, who are still in a family relationship, agree on the division of property.Factors that can affect the outcome of property division include unique family circumstances, the specific nature of assets, and traditional legal practices. The parties will use different mechanisms for the division of joint assets: sale, donation, or exchange, under the terms of which they «trade» with the consent of others their rights as co-owners of jointly owned objects. The various evolutionary stages of the agreement on the division of property by the testator’s family culminate in the final stage of agreeing. The agreement on the division of inheritance is a complex legal process. Potentially, in a single transaction, the beneficiaries can choose and implement the division by sale, exchange, or donation. These different legal constructions reflect the uniqueness of the decisions in each agreement and to some extent demonstrate the specific legal practice of the individual Old Babylonian city-state and the particular circumstances of each family.However, in addition to the division of property, there are other agreements regarding the division of inheritance. For example, an agreement on quasi-partition upon adoption (quasi-adoption), an agreement on the division of residential property by the owner between its future beneficiaries.The need to conclude such agreements arises when an agreement on the division of property is required, which differs from such concepts as sale, donation, exchange, etc.Domestic scientists consider the agreement on the distribution of joint property very broadly and include other types of agreements in the list of such agreements, establishing that the agreement on changing the succession of the right to inheritance by law is atypical. It was determined that the contract under investigation belongs to contracts on the distribution of inheritance. Agreements on the distribution of inheritance are concluded in the field of inheritance, which indicates that they belong to inheritance agreements. It is proposed to supplement the existing classifications of civil law contracts by distinguishing a new type of civil law contracts – contracts in the law of inheritance on the level with the selection of a new type of inheritance contracts – contracts on the distribution of inheritance.» This is a bold hypothesis, but it is difficult to agree with it for various reasons, not least because the distribution of inheritance has been known since ancient times.The factor that the term «distribution» of inheritance and giving it a broad legal meaning is analyzed is an interesting author’s hypothesis. At the same time, according to our position, the term «distribution of inheritance» is more balanced, since in Art. 1278 of the Civil Code does not quite successfully use the term «division», when in the content of this norm it is about the equality of shares in the inheritance and the allocation of a share in kind, and not about division. However, in Part 1 of Art. 1280 of the Civil Code, the term «distribution» is used with a direct meaning and «redistribution» as an opportunity to review the results of the distribution under new circumstances – in the case of acceptance of the inheritance by other heirs. In essence, the obvious meaning of the term «distribution» follows from this norm as the initial determination of the ownership of the share of each of the heirs. In this sense, the redistribution of the inheritance should be connected with the possible introduction of changes to the previously made distribution, that is, in this case, we do not limit the number of subsequent redistributions of the inheritance. This hypothesis is related to the fact that the number of heirs who missed the deadline for valid reasons is not limited by legislation and cannot be limited, but is determined by various legal circumstances.Therefore, it is hardly expedient and possible, to apply in Art. 1280 of the Civil Code, the concept of «distribution» should be given a wider meaning than it has in the Civil Code, as this would lead to its ambiguous perception and application both in theory and in legislation and practice. Usually, theoretical terms should be distinguished by being original and should accurately reflect the legal meaning of actions, events, or conditions.But an important element of the procedure for the distribution of common inheritance property or its redistribution are the subjects who must fix the relevant agreement or carry out such distribution according to their conviction.It is indicated that the practice of concluding contracts by the living owner with his future heirs is widespread in foreign countries. At the same time, German experts equate inheritance with what they consider to be contractual inheritance.It should be noted that the practice of concluding contracts on the distribution of inheritance in the practice of the Ukrainian notary is relatively new and does not have clear boundaries in regulation, which complicates the activity of notaries in certifying such contracts. There are several difficulties in the application of relevant legal norms in practice, as there is a lack of understanding of the legal nature and essence of the conclusion of contracts, the term of conclusion, and the procedure for notarization.The opinions of individual authors are studied, about legal relations regarding the division of inheritance characterized by a weak state policy, this obliges the participants of such relations to draw up the content of agreements on the division of inheritance independently. For agreements between heirs on the distribution of inheritance to be valid regulators of the relations of its participants (heirs), conditions (clauses) must be clarified and formulated, which will be disclosed with sufficient completeness and consistency of the content of the relevant agreement and the purpose of its conclusion.We do not agree with this point of view of the scientist regarding «weak state policy», since the Central Committee of Ukraine was not created by politicians or the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, but by leading scientists of Ukraine. It is also difficult to agree with the statement that the lack of clear regulation of the terms of inheritance contracts «obliges the participants of such relationships to independently draw up the content of inheritance distribution contracts.» In Ukraine, some good notaries and lawyers can draw up high-quality contracts for the distribution of inheritance. Moreover, according to Art. 4 of the Law of Ukraine «On Notaries», notaries have the right to draw up relevant draft contracts. In our opinion, it is worth emphasizing here that this is a right, not a duty of a notary public. That is, the notary may not undertake the drafting of the relevant project, but this provision is positive for interested parties since the lack of experience in drafting original contracts will most likely lead to the drafting of a low-quality draft contract. Indeed, in this case, it is worth looking for an experienced notary who will be able to draw up a draft contract, but this will make it possible to prevent errors in its drafting with a high probability.Thus, the agreement on the distribution of inheritance enters into force if the parties reach an agreement in the proper form on all the essential terms of the agreement. The main essential condition for agreeing on the division of inheritance is the subject of the agreement. However, either party may consider this condition insufficient and propose to include additional conditions in the contract. In this case, these conditions become essential. In connection with the instability of the regulation of the content of contracts between heirs on the distribution of inheritance, it can be concluded that the inclusion of normal conditions in the contract is currently impossible. We believe that such a general scheme of perception of contract terms is not entirely rational, since how to perceive ordinary terms or essential terms of a contract quite often in practice depends on the judgments of the parties to the contract unless otherwise regulated by legislation. This issue can be approached more precisely if we take into account the possibility of interpreting transactions and contracts (Article 213 of the Civil Code).So, based on the essence of the process of concluding contracts, it should be taken into account that the notary who drafts the contract can edit it, therefore it is worth recognizing the right of the notary to interpret it, since according to Art. 5 of the Law of Ukraine «On Notaries», he is obliged to clarify the legal consequences that will arise for persons after his certification. It follows from this that the notary must be given the official right to interpret the contract upon its certification, then it will be clear that after its certification, the court can interpret the content of the contract. In this regard, Art. 213 of the Civil Code is proposed to be supplemented with a corresponding provision regarding the powers of the notary, namely: his duty to interpret the content of the deed or contract before and during its certification.The Inheritance Regulation, which envisages wide acceptance of the inheritance contract, is considered. It is noted that it is worth revising Ukrainian inheritance law in advance for compliance with European standards since after Ukraine accedes to the EU it will be necessary to inform all EU countries about what types of contracts in Ukraine will be related to the issuance of the European Certificate of Succession.This is also important for inheritance by law, because, in case of non-fulfillment of the terms of the lifetime maintenance (care) agreement and the inheritance agreement, they will have to be terminated or recognized as invalid or unfulfilled by the acquirer, so the property that was the subject of this agreement will be inherited by law. At the same time, if the terms of these agreements are fulfilled, the part of the property that belonged to the testator will not be inherited but will become the property of the acquirers.The process of accepting the inheritance is quite long, and the inheritance law allows for several agreements between the heirs, which can significantly affect the size of the inheritance shares and the real things in each share in the inheritance. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the possibility of agreements between the heirs at different stages of accepting or not accepting the inheritance. From communication with one of the clients, the author learned that the notary unofficially advised the heirs to agree on the distribution of the inheritance, as well as for certain heirs to waive the right to inheritance, but to receive a proper share of the inheritance in household items. When the author was informed of all the circumstances of the inheritance case, it became clear that the notary could not solve the complex inheritance problem, since the inheritance took place based on a will and some heirs had the right to a mandatory share, as well as part of the property remained. So, in such a situation, it was necessary to solve an arithmetical and at the same time legal problem, the complexity of which was determined by the complex subject composition of numerous heirs. Therefore, the notary tried to simplify its solution by artificially «transforming» the heirs who have the right to a mandatory share into ordinary heirs who claim property that is not subject to recording in the certificate of the right to inheritance.A natural will was considered, when the testator bequeathed the specific property to each of the heirs, namely: a house to a daughter, a factory to one son, and a yacht to another let’s say. In such a case, the will of the testator is formulated in the Shodo of the objects of inheritance, so it is difficult to perceive the consequences of the refusal of one of the heirs to inherit, when the yacht will be divided into equal shares between the son and the daughter, because: firstly, the value of the factory and the house will be different, so someone from the testator gave the children a larger inheritance than the other. Secondly, in the case of the existence of a part of the inheritance not covered by the will, it can be assumed with a high degree of probability that the will of the testator was formulated about a certain property and nothing more. Therefore, in case of refusal of one of the heirs to inherit under the will, the property bequeathed to him should be considered as not covered by the will and should be inherited according to the law. That is, if the will of the testator regarding the entire property is revealed, it can be assumed that he thus intended to deprive one of the heirs of the right to inheritance.At the same time, the will must be interpreted not only by the heirs under the will but also by the heirs under the law, when its content concerns the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance, which belongs to the heirs under the law of the first rank, who due to incapacity have the right to claim it, as well as the recipients of the response. With a high degree of probability, it can be assumed that the inheritance, which consists of household items, will be divided even without a written agreement. However, the interpretation of a will, which concerns a substantial inheritance between a significant number of heirs, requires not only a written form of recording of agreements – a contract, but also, in our opinion, a notarial form that will allow recording the agreement more reliably, to explain to the parties to the contract the consequences of its conclusion. If all interested parties sign the agreement, and the notary recognizes it as legal, then it will be difficult to recognize it as illegal or invalid in the next one. Therefore, the agreement on the interpretation of the will, which will establish the specific rights of the heirs and their obligations regarding the coverage of the testator’s debts, is a rational form of specification of the terms of the inheritance, which will allow establishing the executor of the will, if he was not determined by the testator.We can assume with a high degree of probability that similar «simplified calculations» are made by other notaries, as well as directly by the heirs, and certain agreements are not necessary here.

Abstract As barriers to cross-border trade and investment have fallen and business has become more globally integrated in recent years, many countries have become increasingly concerned about multinational enterprises (MNEs) shifting taxable income out of their jurisdictions into low-tax foreign jurisdictions. MNEs may do this by manipulating their transfer prices, which are the prices established for transfers of goods and services and the lending of funds between entities within the MNE. MNEs may also shift income by tinkering with the financial structure of MNE group members so that debt, and the associated interest expense, are shifted across borders. Income shifting can erode national tax bases and distort the financial and real investment decisions of MNEs. And countries may respond to these pressures by competing for tax base and capital in ways that exacerbate the distortions and further erode the taxation of company income. This chapter reviews the pressures and distortions created by income shifting within MNEs and examines how various policies may ameliorate or exacerbate these problems. Since income shifting inherently involves more than one country, policies of one country may create positive or negative spillovers for other countries, and international policy co-ordination may be necessary if such spillovers are to be properly accounted for. In reviewing policy responses to income shifting, particular notice will be given to the possibility and desirability of such co-ordination.

This chapter focuses on the process of registration for trade marks in the UK, the European Union, and other countries. It begins by explaining the differences in procedures and documentation needed in filing trade mark applications at the national, regional, and international levels. The role of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in processing applications in the EU is considered, along with the international filing systems established under the 1891 Madrid Agreement and the 1989 Madrid Protocol. The chapter concludes by presenting possible avenues through which to acquire trade mark protection. It briefly considers the possible impacts of Brexit.

Abstract In developed countries, there is good evidence that intellectual property is, and has been, important for the promotion of invention in some industrial sectors, particularly the pharmaceutical, chemical, and petroleum industries as well as biotechnology and some components of information technology. Copyright has also proven essential for the music, film, and publishing industries. For developing countries, the nurturing of indigenous technological capacity through the intellectual property system has also proved to be a key determinant of economic growth and poverty reduction.

This chapter explores whether the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) produces any impact on the Turkish legal system and, if so, its possible underlying causes. Protection of intellectual, industrial, and commercial property rights, competition, trade defence instruments, government procurement, direct and indirect taxation have been regarded as the main areas of ‘approximation of legislation’. Accordingly, laws adopted mostly in the past three decades show that the influence of EU law is valid only in certain fields of law, such as intellectual property law, labour law, and competition law, and this is also where we find most CJEU citations. This influence forms part of the EU accession process, which requires Turkey to harmonize its laws with the acquis. According to the research, despite the existence of a long-standing accession process and legislation based on the acquis in certain fields of law, on the whole, the Turkish judiciary does not seem committed to follow EU law in general or CJEU jurisprudence in particular.

Abstract FROM the late fourteenth century, Norway was joined with Denmark in a personal union, that is, the two countries had their king in common, but otherwise their political and legal administrations were kept apart. This system was changed in 1536. The war of succession (1534-6) had discredited the noblemen and prelates of the Norwegian council, who supported the losing cause. All political power was now vested in the king’s person and in a council without Norwegian representation. The king in council decided that from now on Norway was to be considered a province of the Danish kingdom like Jutland, Sjaelland, and Fyn. This real union lasted until 1814.

The approach to the cadastral value of the property is an indicator of the development of the real estate market, and therefore there are still divisions between countries preferring addictive this value from the surface and from values. The article comments on regulatory presented in selected European Union countries and presents original solution for the determination and correction of the cadastral value of the property, which is the basis to determine the property tax. About the tax character of this value, the fact that the introduction of social concern. Based on Poland, more than twenty years there has been discussion on this subject, but without regulation, there is only a discuss about the concepts of the system. The first attempts spatial analysis in order to determine the cadastral-tax areas have not yielded sufficient results, which is why the authors decided to present original solution resulting from the combination of statistical methods inclusive quantitative traits (facet surface) and qualitative characteristics (standard flat) with the characteristics of spatial (location, neighbourhood), in to determine the cadastral value of the property to eventually create the zones in cadastral-tax-zones. As an example, the property from the city Bochnia were used. The paper sought optimal zoning, to minimize variations and create homogeneous collections, which are enclosed areas, so that the weightings were small. To do this, the property housing was selected, as constituting the highest percentage of items on the market.

Sustainable development approaches the concept of quality of life in all its complexity, from an economic, social and environmental point of view, promoting the idea of ​​the balance between economic development, social equity, efficient use and conservation of the environment. By its very nature, sustainable development represents the need for responsibility and education for environmental protection, and this aspect is reflected in the evolution of community policy in recent years, a policy marked by the transition from an approach based on constraint and sanction, to a more flexible, based one on incentives. Thus, it is acting in the direction of a voluntary approach, in order to promote this environmental responsibility and to encourage the use of environmental management systems. The environmental policy does not act independently, but reflects the interest of civil society in this direction, manifested by the creation of numerous environmental movements and organizations. Moreover, in some countries the creation and development of "green" political parties has been achieved, with real success in the political arena. However, resistance - or, more properly, the restraint and inertia that manifests itself, should not be forgotten, when environmental objectives seem to limit industrial competitiveness and economic growth; but this aspect only emphasizes once again the need for a concerted approach at European level and the need for an active and integrated environmental policy, capable of responding to the challenges that appear economically. The European environmental policy is based on the principles of precaution, prevention, correction of pollution at source and "polluter pays". The precautionary principle is a risk management tool that can be invoked if there is scientific uncertainty about a possible risk to human health or the environment, arising from a particular action or policy.

In recent years, structure of world trade is transformed to intra-industry trade (IIT) that is defined as the import and export of similar commodities. The transformation of foreign trade structure has led to increase either theoretical or empirical studies on IIT. A large part of the empirical studies on international trade deals with gravity model for explaining the determinants of foreign trade. According to gravity model, trade between countries, is affected negatively to the distance between them and positively to the size of the country. Similar statements can be used in terms of the determinants of IIT. Therefore, this study will be carried out determinants of IIT with using the gravity model. In this paper, determinants of intra-industry trade in manufacturing sectors between Turkey and European Union (EU) 15 countries will be estimated by panel data regression analysis in 1996-2013 periods. The results of this study indicate that market size and foreign direct investments have positive effects and distance between countries and real effective exchange rate have negative effects on Turkey’s manufacturing sector IIT with EU 15.

The article deals with the analysis of the transformation of the discourse of European identity during the second half of the XXth–beginning of the XXst centuries. The search for general patterns of this process can help to build appropriate models applicable to the political conditions of countries seeking to integrate into the European community. The situation in the European community was chosen as the empirical material, mainly within the framework of the European Union, currently uniting 28 countries. Since identity, including the European identity is not only a construct formed with varying degrees of success, but also an objective reality, acting as a set of characteristics that distinguish Europeans from others in this particular case, this topic is not only a subject of study of academic discourse, but also an important topic forming a real political agenda.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations, such as the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) and the forthcoming Taxon­omy Regulation in the European Union (EU), have had and will continue to have a lasting impact on the real estate sector and various other stakeholders within the market. This study, therefore, compares the current European reg­ulation with standard sustainability reporting practices in the real estate (RE) industry in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In particular, we aim to inves­tigate what type of information related to environmental issues is being reg­ularly provided and by how many of the 55 largest RE firms in the years 2020 and 2021. We show that the majority of the environmental indicators recom­mended by the European Real Estate Association (EPRA) are more often re­ported in 2021 than in 2020. For example, a 30% or higher reporting frequen­cy in 2021 could be observed for the energy intensity of rentable area kWh/m2, scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions t CO2e, EPRA recommendations implementation, and citing of standards used. Irrespective of the positive development, howev­er, there is still a lot of room for improving reporting quality as small reporting frequencies are identifiable for the following “E” measures: energy consump­tion BOP MWh (6 in 2020 and 4 in 2021), emissions intensity of BOP kg CO2e/m2 (8 in 2020 and 7 in 2021) and Scope 3 t CO2e (7 in 2020 and 11 in 2021). The pro­vided evidence highlights how low the reporting of “E” measures recommend­ed by the EPRA generally is. In January 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Re­porting Directive (CSRD) was officially enacted, marking a significant mile­stone in the field of corporate sustainability reporting. This newly established directive represents a significant advancement in the regulatory framework governing corporate social and environmental information disclosure. About 50,000 companies will now be required to report on sustainability. Thus, it is key for individuals, organizations, and politicians introducing new sustain­ability reporting rules in Europe to understand that too complex rules may not be appropriately complied with and keep uniform EU taxonomy report­ing requirements besides CSRD easy to apply in the future.

In recent years, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) re­lated rules such as the Taxonomy Regulation of the European Union (EU) have had a lasting impact on the real estate industry and other market participants, and this trend is expected to continue. This study compares European regulation with common sustainability reporting practices in the Real Estate (RE) Sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH re­gion). The aim is to investigate what type of information related to em­ployees and other social and governance issues is being provided and by how many of the largest RE firms are in the years 2020 and 2021. Our find­ings show that 20 out of 35 sustainability measures are more often report­ed in 2021 than in 2020. Although the trend is positive, there is still a lot of room for improving reporting quality. Small reporting frequencies are ob­servable in the case of the following ESG measures: violations of the code of conduct (mentioned 1 time in 2020 and 2 times in 2021), safety inspec­tions of buildings (mentioned 5 times in 2020 and 8 times in 2021), the to­tal number of suppliers (mentioned 4 times in 2020 and 6 times in 2021), the share of expenses for local suppliers in % (mentioned 2 times in 2020 and 3 times in 2021), and obtained well-being certificates (reported by 5 firms in 2020 and 4 ones in 2021). Only 5 in 2021 (2 in 2020) firms planned to tie the board compensation to sustainability measures. These findings are important for individuals, companies, institutions and policymakers introducing new sustainability reporting rules in Europe as not only the real estate industry needs to prepare for the uniform EU taxonomy report­ing requirements besides CSRD in the future.

Europe faces challenges reminiscent of Latin American financial crises. The failure of recent liquidity support to normalize the situation in Europe suggests the need to refocus the policy debate on fundamentals: structural reform for growth and, where needed, restructuring to resolve banking crises and the debt overhang. Latin America's experience yields relevant policy lessons for Europe on those fronts except concerning the use of sharp real devaluations to spearhead recovery: euro-zone countries following suit by reintroducing devalued national currencies would invite catastrophe. Despite this constraint, Europe stands a better chance of navigating the path out of the crisis because it has cooperative mechanisms unavailable in Latin America. European cooperation can provide support for orderly crisis resolution as well as growth and competitiveness within the currency union fold, to the benefit of all members. However, the path is uncharted, and successful regional cooperation will require innovation and political will.

In this paper, we explore the role of trade in the evolution of labor share in Latin American countries. We use trade agreements with large economies (the United States, the European Union, and China) to capture the effect of sharp changes in trade. In the last two decades, labor share has displayed a negative trend among those countries that signed trade agreements, while in other countries labor share increased, widening the gap by 7 percentage points. We apply synthetic control methods to estimate the average causal impact of trade agreements on labor share. While effects are heterogeneous in our eight case studies, the average impact is negative between 2 to 4 percentage points of GDP four years after the entry into force of the trade agreements. This result is robust to the specification used and to the set of countries in the donor pool. We also find that, after trade agreements, exports of manufactured goods and the share of industry in GDP increase on average, most notably in the case studies where negative effects on labor share are significant. A decomposition shows that all the reduction in labor share is explained by a negative impact on real wages.

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, most OECD countries have announced punishing sanctions against Russia. In addition to targeting financial markets and service sectors, some countries have begun to impose restrictions on exports of Russia’s fossil fuels. In this paper, we analyze a scenario whereby most OECD countries put major restrictions on Russia’s energy exports. Results suggest that the short-term implications are likely to be non-trivial for EU – Russia’s largest energy export destination. Households’ real income could drop by 0.7-1.7 percent (relative to the reference case) with energy prices growing by as much as 11 percent. But after the initial adjustment period, the cost of such restrictions for the EU is expected to be more modest over the longer run (0.04 percent slowdown in the annual growth rate of real income over the 2022-2030 period), even as they lead to substantial environmental co-benefits through reductions in CO2 (6.6 percent in 2030) and air pollutant emissions (2.8-5.9 percent in 2030). Such emission reductions would take the EU more than halfway to its Green Deal mitigation target, reducing the necessary carbon price by around 40 EUR per tCO2. Adverse impacts on the Russian economy would be overwhelming and, in relative terms, 10 time larger than that for EU. By 2030 the cumulative reduction in Russian real income would exceed 1.1 trillion USD, while lost revenue from fossil fuel exports would be almost 1.4 trillion USD. Key words: Russia; Fossil fuel export restrictions; Economic impacts; European Union; Climate mitigation; Environmental co-benefits; Computable general equilibrium. JEL codes: C68, O13, Q43, F17, F18

The internet and digital technologies are upending global trade. Industries and supply chains are being transformed, and the movement of data across borders is now central to the operation of the global economy. Provisions in trade agreements address many aspects of the digital economy – from cross-border data flows, to the protection of citizens’ personal data, and the regulation of the internet and new technologies like artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making. The UK government has identified digital trade as a priority in its Global Britain strategy and one of the main sources of economic growth to recover from the pandemic. It wants the UK to play a leading role in setting the international standards and regulations that govern the global digital economy. The regulation of digital trade is a fast-evolving and contentious issue, and the US, European Union (EU), and China have adopted different approaches. Now that the UK has left the EU, it will need to navigate across multiple and often conflicting digital realms. The UK needs to decide which policy objectives it will prioritise, how to regulate the digital economy domestically, and how best to achieve its priorities when negotiating international trade agreements. There is an urgent need to develop a robust, evidence-based approach to the UK’s digital trade strategy that takes into account the perspectives of businesses, workers, and citizens, as well as the approaches of other countries in the global economy. This working paper aims to inform UK policy debates by assessing the state of play in digital trade globally. The authors present a detailed analysis of five policy areas that are central to discussions on digital trade for the UK: cross-border data flows and privacy; internet access and content regulation; intellectual property and innovation; e-commerce (including trade facilitation and consumer protection); and taxation (customs duties on e-commerce and digital services taxes). In each of these areas the authors compare and contrast the approaches taken by the US, EU and China, discuss the public policy implications, and examine the choices facing the UK.

In the second quarter, annual inflation (9.67%), the technical staff’s projections and its expectations continued to increase, remaining above the target. International cost shocks, accentuated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have been more persistent than projected, thus contributing to higher inflation. The effects of indexation, higher than estimated excess demand, a tighter labor market, inflation expectations that continue to rise and currently exceed 3%, and the exchange rate pressures add to those described above. High core inflation measures as well as in the producer price index (PPI) across all baskets confirm a significant spread in price increases. Compared to estimates presented in April, the new forecast trajectory for headline and core inflation increased. This was partly the result of greater exchange rate pressure on prices, and a larger output gap, which is expected to remain positive for the remainder of 2022 and which is estimated to close towards yearend 2023. In addition, these trends take into account higher inflation rate indexation, more persistent above-target inflation expectations, a quickening of domestic fuel price increases due to the correction of lags versus the parity price and higher international oil price forecasts. The forecast supposes a good domestic supply of perishable foods, although it also considers that international prices of processed foods will remain high. In terms of the goods sub-basket, the end of the national health emergency implies a reversal of the value-added tax (VAT) refund applied to health and personal hygiene products, resulting in increases in the prices of these goods. Alternatively, the monetary policy adjustment process and the moderation of external shocks would help inflation and its expectations to begin to decrease over time and resume their alignment with the target. Thus, the new projection suggests that inflation could remain high for the second half of 2022, closing at 9.7%. However, it would begin to fall during 2023, closing the year at 5.7%. These forecasts are subject to significant uncertainty, especially regarding the future behavior of external cost shocks, the degree of indexation of nominal contracts and decisions made regarding the domestic price of fuels. Economic activity continues to outperform expectations, and the technical staff’s growth projections for 2022 have been revised upwards from 5% to 6.9%. The new forecasts suggest higher output levels that would continue to exceed the economy’s productive capacity for the remainder of 2022. Economic growth during the first quarter was above that estimated in April, while economic activity indicators for the second quarter suggest that the GDP could be expected to remain high, potentially above that of the first quarter. Domestic demand is expected to maintain a positive dynamic, in particular, due to the household consumption quarterly growth, as suggested by vehicle registrations, retail sales, credit card purchases and consumer loan disbursement figures. A slowdown in the machinery and equipment imports from the levels observed in March contrasts with the positive performance of sales and housing construction licenses, which indicates an investment level similar to that registered for the first three months of the year. International trade data suggests the trade deficit would be reduced as a consequence of import levels that would be lesser than those observed in the first quarter, and stable export levels. For the remainder of the year and 2023, a deceleration in consumption is expected from the high levels seen during the first half of the year, partially as a result of lower repressed demand, tighter domestic financial conditions and household available income deterioration due to increased inflation. Investment is expected to continue its slow recovery while remaining below pre-pandemic levels. The trade deficit is expected to tighten due to projected lower domestic demand dynamics, and high prices of oil and other basic goods exported by the country. Given the above, economic growth in the second quarter of 2022 would be 11.5%, and for 2022 and 2023 an annual growth of 6.9% and 1.1% is expected, respectively. Currently, and for the remainder of 2022, the output gap would be positive and greater than that estimated in April, and prices would be affected by demand pressures. These projections continue to be affected by significant uncertainty associated with global political tensions, the expected adjustment of monetary policy in developed countries, external demand behavior, changes in country risk outlook, and the future developments in domestic fiscal policy, among others. The high inflation levels and respective expectations, which exceed the target of the world's main central banks, largely explain the observed and anticipated increase in their monetary policy interest rates. This environment has tempered the growth forecast for external demand. Disruptions in value chains, rising international food and energy prices, and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies have contributed to the rise in inflation and above-target expectations seen by several of Colombia’s main trading partners. These cost and price shocks, heightened by the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have been more prevalent than expected and have taken place within a set of output and employment recovery, variables that in some countries currently equal or exceed their projected long-term levels. In response, the U.S. Federal Reserve accelerated the pace of the benchmark interest rate increase and rapidly reduced liquidity levels in the money market. Financial market actors expect this behavior to continue and, consequently, significantly increase their expectations of the average path of the Fed's benchmark interest rate. In this setting, the U.S. dollar appreciated versus the peso in the second quarter and emerging market risk measures increased, a behavior that intensified for Colombia. Given the aforementioned, for the remainder of 2022 and 2023, the Bank's technical staff increased the forecast trajectory for the Fed's interest rate and reduced the country's external demand growth forecast. The projected oil price was revised upward over the forecast horizon, specifically due to greater supply restrictions and the interruption of hydrocarbon trade between the European Union and Russia. Global geopolitical tensions, a tightening of monetary policy in developed economies, the increase in risk perception for emerging markets and the macroeconomic imbalances in the country explain the increase in the projected trajectory of the risk premium, its trend level and the neutral real interest rate1. Uncertainty about external forecasts and their consequent impact on the country's macroeconomic scenario remains high, given the unpredictable evolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, the degree of the global economic slowdown and the effect the response to recent outbreaks of the pandemic in some Asian countries may have on the world economy. This macroeconomic scenario that includes high inflation, inflation forecasts, and expectations above 3% and a positive output gap suggests the need for a contractionary monetary policy that mitigates the risk of the persistent unanchoring of inflation expectations. In contrast to the forecasts of the April report, the increase in the risk premium trend implies a higher neutral real interest rate and a greater prevailing monetary stimulus than previously estimated. For its part, domestic demand has been more dynamic, with a higher observed and expected output level that exceeds the economy’s productive capacity. The surprising accelerations in the headline and core inflation reflect stronger and more persistent external shocks, which, in combination with the strength of aggregate demand, indexation, higher inflation expectations and exchange rate pressures, explain the upward projected inflation trajectory at levels that exceed the target over the next two years. This is corroborated by the inflation expectations of economic analysts and those derived from the public debt market, which continued to climb and currently exceed 3%. All of the above increase the risk of unanchoring inflation expectations and could generate widespread indexation processes that may push inflation away from the target for longer. This new macroeconomic scenario suggests that the interest rate adjustment should continue towards a contractionary monetary policy landscape. 1.2. Monetary policy decision Banco de la República’s Board of Directors (BDBR), at its meetings in June and July 2022, decided to continue adjusting its monetary policy. At its June meeting, the BDBR decided to increase the monetary policy rate by 150 basis points (b.p.) and its July meeting by majority vote, on a 150 b.p. increase thereof at its July meeting. Consequently, the monetary policy interest rate currently stands at 9.0% . 1 The neutral real interest rate refers to the real interest rate level that is neither stimulative nor contractionary for aggregate demand and, therefore, does not generate pressures that lead to the close of the output gap. In a small, open economy like Colombia, this rate depends on the external neutral real interest rate, medium-term components of the country risk premium, and expected depreciation. Box 1: A Weekly Indicator of Economic Activity for Colombia Juan Pablo Cote Carlos Daniel Rojas Nicol Rodriguez Box 2: Common Inflationary Trends in Colombia Carlos D. Rojas-Martínez Nicolás Martínez-Cortés Franky Juliano Galeano-Ramírez Box 3: Shock Decomposition of 2021 Forecast Errors Nicolás Moreno Arias