CYIL vol. 10 (2019)

MAGDALÉNA SVOBODOVÁ CYIL 10 ȍ2019Ȏ cooperation No 1 and 4), language arrangements for European intellectual property rights – Art. 118 TFEU (enhanced cooperation No 2), harmonization of tax law as a typical area of strong national interests – Art. 113 TFEU (enhanced cooperation No 3), certain aspects of criminal law where the conferral of competences on the EU has been traditionally delicate from the perspective of the state sovereignty – Art. 86(1) TFEU (enhanced cooperation No 5). In all cases of enhanced cooperation, the original proposal of the European Commission was unacceptable on certain grounds for some Member States. The grounds naturally vary depending on the particular enhanced cooperation. The enhanced cooperation No 1 and 4 concern family law, which – in the words of the government of Finland – “is closely connected with fundamental values and traditions of member states”. 37 In the area of divorce law, for instance, the approaches of particular Member States differ a lot. Malta, on the one hand, did not allow divorce at all in 2010 when enhanced cooperation was established. In Sweden, on the other hand, a divorcing couple does not have to adduce any reasons of the divorce because the divorce will simply be granted. 38 Consequently, “Malta was afraid that Rome III might be used to circumvent the Maltese impossibility of divorce by applying foreign divorce law in Maltese courts, while Sweden was afraid that Swedish courts would be obliged to refuse under foreign law an application for divorce”. 39 The Czech Republic does not participate in the enhanced cooperation concerning divorce law. The deputy minister Tomáš Boček declared in 2008 that it was not a good idea to begin with enhanced cooperation in such a sensitive area. It should be also remarked that the then Czech government was a right-wing conservative government. 40 As to the unitary patent protection, Spain and Italy did not support the original proposal and later opposed the enhanced cooperation before the Court of Justice because of the trilingual regime for translating Unitary Patents. Only English, French, and German would be the official languages of Unitary Patents (i.e. neither Spanish nor Italian languages). 41 Financial transaction tax, which attracts a lot of attention and is pushed forward by Germany and France 42 , has received the lowest support from all cases of enhanced cooperation. It has been opposed by several Member States, especially the United Kingdom (it also brought the action before the Court of Justice). The United Kingdom – where the financial transaction tax is popularly dubbed as “the Robin Hood Tax” 43 – holds the view that in case of introducing the tax in the EU, traders would simply transfer their deals outside the EU. 44 The tax has also not been supported by the Czech Republic. The right-wing government of Petr Nečas refused the support in 2011, arguing that it would be de facto the first European 37 See PEERS, p. 347. 38 See KUIPERS, J. J. The Law Applicable to Divorce as a Test Ground for Enhanced Cooperation, European Law Journal , 2012, Issue 2, p. 201. 39 KUIPERS, p. 202. 40 See Sjednocení rozvodů v celé EU? Nikoli. [Unification of divorces in the EU? No.] Lidovky.cz, 26. 7. 2008, available at: https://www.lidovky.cz/noviny/sjednoceni-rozvodu-v-cele-eu-nikoli.A080726_000044_ln_noviny_sko [Accessed: 24 November 2019].“ 41 See GHIRARDI, G., DI VONZO, C. C. Unitary Patent – the situation in Italy, available at: http://www. theunitarypatent.com/unitary-patent-the-situation-in-italy [Accessed: 29 May 2019]. 42 See Germany and France to outline EU financial transaction tax proposal, Euractive 3 December 2018, available at: https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/germany-and-france-to-outline-eu-financial-transaction- tax-proposal/ [Accessed: 29 May 2019]. 43 DAYAL, S. The drawbacks of the Financial Transactions Tax. Centre for Policy Studies, available at: https://www. cps.org.uk/blog/q/date/2017/08/07/the-drawbacks-of-the-financial-transactions-tax/ [Accessed: 29 May 2019]. 44 See https://www.out-law.com/topics/tax/corporate-tax-/financial-transaction-tax/ [Accessed: 29 May 2019].

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