On the 18th of December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered the historic O... more On the 18th of December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered the historic Opinion 2/13, where it ruled that the draft agreement on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is not compatible with Article 6(2) of the Treaty on European Union or with Protocol (No 8) relating to Article 6(2) TEU.In terms of practical effects, the Court’s long list of objections to the draft agreement as expressed in Opinion 2/13, blocked, at least temporarily, the road towards the accession of the EU to the ECHR. Furthermore, in symbolic terms, Opinion 2/13 reflected the Court’s fundamental disagreement with the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament, and the 24 Member States that submitted their observations in the context of the Opinion request, all concluding that “the draft agreement is compatible with the Treaties”. Finally, in terms of internal organization and function, Opinion 2/13 exposed the division between the Court and the Advocate General Kokott, who had concluded in her View that under certain conditions, the draft agreement is compatible with EU law. It is, therefore, evident that there are many aspects of Opinion 2/13 that require thorough analysis and interpretation. The core of this Thesis is an attempt to answer the following questions:
1. Did the Court fully and adequately justify its negative Opinion to the question of the European Commission on the following issue: “is the draft agreement providing for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 (‘the ECHR’) compatible with the Treaties?”?
2. How is the protection of human rights in Europe affected by the Court’s rejection of the accession of the EU to the ECHR and what is the way forward?
It is evident that the scope of the VAT exemption of insurance transactions is rather unclear, th... more It is evident that the scope of the VAT exemption of insurance transactions is rather unclear, thus creating many “grey zones” and an atmosphere of legal uncertainty within the EU. This Thesis aims to present and clarify the rules governing the scope of the VAT exemption for “insurance and reinsurance transactions, including related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents” as stipulated in Art 135(1)(a) of the RVD. It is obvious from the wording of the provision that it is necessary to define the terms “insurance” and “reinsurance” and describe clearly the scope and borderlines within a transaction can be characterized as such. Moreover it is of equal importance to analyze the roles and responsibilities of “insurance brokers” and “insurance agents” and clarify the meaning and substance of “related services”. Consequently, this Thesis aspires to create a road map for the VAT treatment of all the relevant types of insurance contracts by giving answers to the questions: • Which are the subject and nature of VAT exempt “insurance and reinsurance transactions”? • Which are the subject and nature of “related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents”?
On the 18th of December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered the historic O... more On the 18th of December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered the historic Opinion 2/13, where it ruled that the draft agreement on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is not compatible with Article 6(2) of the Treaty on European Union or with Protocol (No 8) relating to Article 6(2) TEU.In terms of practical effects, the Court’s long list of objections to the draft agreement as expressed in Opinion 2/13, blocked, at least temporarily, the road towards the accession of the EU to the ECHR. Furthermore, in symbolic terms, Opinion 2/13 reflected the Court’s fundamental disagreement with the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament, and the 24 Member States that submitted their observations in the context of the Opinion request, all concluding that “the draft agreement is compatible with the Treaties”. Finally, in terms of internal organization and function, Opinion 2/13 exposed the division between the Court and the Advocate General Kokott, who had concluded in her View that under certain conditions, the draft agreement is compatible with EU law. It is, therefore, evident that there are many aspects of Opinion 2/13 that require thorough analysis and interpretation. The core of this Thesis is an attempt to answer the following questions:
1. Did the Court fully and adequately justify its negative Opinion to the question of the European Commission on the following issue: “is the draft agreement providing for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 (‘the ECHR’) compatible with the Treaties?”?
2. How is the protection of human rights in Europe affected by the Court’s rejection of the accession of the EU to the ECHR and what is the way forward?
It is evident that the scope of the VAT exemption of insurance transactions is rather unclear, th... more It is evident that the scope of the VAT exemption of insurance transactions is rather unclear, thus creating many “grey zones” and an atmosphere of legal uncertainty within the EU. This Thesis aims to present and clarify the rules governing the scope of the VAT exemption for “insurance and reinsurance transactions, including related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents” as stipulated in Art 135(1)(a) of the RVD. It is obvious from the wording of the provision that it is necessary to define the terms “insurance” and “reinsurance” and describe clearly the scope and borderlines within a transaction can be characterized as such. Moreover it is of equal importance to analyze the roles and responsibilities of “insurance brokers” and “insurance agents” and clarify the meaning and substance of “related services”. Consequently, this Thesis aspires to create a road map for the VAT treatment of all the relevant types of insurance contracts by giving answers to the questions: • Which are the subject and nature of VAT exempt “insurance and reinsurance transactions”? • Which are the subject and nature of “related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents”?
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1. Did the Court fully and adequately justify its negative Opinion to the question of the European Commission on the following issue: “is the draft agreement providing for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 (‘the ECHR’) compatible with the Treaties?”?
2. How is the protection of human rights in Europe affected by the Court’s rejection of the accession of the EU to the ECHR and what is the way forward?
This Thesis aims to present and clarify the rules governing the scope of the VAT exemption for “insurance and reinsurance transactions, including related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents” as stipulated in Art 135(1)(a) of the RVD. It is obvious from the wording of the provision that it is necessary to define the terms “insurance” and “reinsurance” and describe clearly the scope and borderlines within a transaction can be characterized as such. Moreover it is of equal importance to analyze the roles and responsibilities of “insurance brokers” and “insurance agents” and clarify the meaning and substance of “related services”. Consequently, this Thesis aspires to create a road map for the VAT treatment of all the relevant types of insurance contracts by giving answers to the questions:
• Which are the subject and nature of VAT exempt “insurance and reinsurance transactions”?
• Which are the subject and nature of “related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents”?
1. Did the Court fully and adequately justify its negative Opinion to the question of the European Commission on the following issue: “is the draft agreement providing for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 (‘the ECHR’) compatible with the Treaties?”?
2. How is the protection of human rights in Europe affected by the Court’s rejection of the accession of the EU to the ECHR and what is the way forward?
This Thesis aims to present and clarify the rules governing the scope of the VAT exemption for “insurance and reinsurance transactions, including related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents” as stipulated in Art 135(1)(a) of the RVD. It is obvious from the wording of the provision that it is necessary to define the terms “insurance” and “reinsurance” and describe clearly the scope and borderlines within a transaction can be characterized as such. Moreover it is of equal importance to analyze the roles and responsibilities of “insurance brokers” and “insurance agents” and clarify the meaning and substance of “related services”. Consequently, this Thesis aspires to create a road map for the VAT treatment of all the relevant types of insurance contracts by giving answers to the questions:
• Which are the subject and nature of VAT exempt “insurance and reinsurance transactions”?
• Which are the subject and nature of “related services performed by insurance brokers and insurance agents”?