Suchergebnisse

Since the early 1990s, the European Union has been working to establish a common framework ensuring consular protection for Union citizens in third countries. In the meantime, the practical need for consular assistance of unrepresented Union citizens in third countries has only increased, resulting in the progressive elaboration of the Union's legal and institutional framework necessary to deliver such assistance. This article discusses the law, policies and practices that are in place and those to come, taking account of the 2011 Commission proposal for a Directive and the real-life alterations in consular protection the proposal may effectuate. In spite of favourable conditions for further development of common consular protection, various legal, institutional and political hurdles continue to impede an effective and coherent implementation of the individual right to consular protection of Union citizens.

The international financial crisis which broke out in 2008 has had a major impact on fiscal sustainability of countries all over the world. Countries have responded with varying measures. Moreover, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, international initiatives regarding tax governance have gained political momentum; various initiatives regarding fiscal policy have been taken at the global level, and several policies with implications for national tax policy and law are conducted at that level . Therefore, this paper will give an overview of the international tax initiatives at the level of the Group of Twenty (G-20), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). These international tax initiatives cannot be referred to as "international tax law". It would be more appropriate to see them as a hesitant beginning of a form of "global tax governance". This contribution will show that the unequivocal fiscal principle of 'no taxation without representation' poses an important challenge for the emergence of legitimate global tax governance, as most of the international initiatives lack an inclusive process. Whereas multiple international tax initiatives exist, we cannot yet discern the existence of globally effective tax governance.