Fiscal Institute Tilburg

Fiscal State Aid and the Role of National Judges

In a context in which, through its Modernization Programme, the EU Commission aims at a stronger and better targeted State aid control, the role of national judges has become even more crucial in order to guarantee an effective enforcement of EU State aid law.

This training program has the important aim of increasing awareness on the importance of this role and the possibilities of guaranteeing a more effective enforcement of state aid law at national level.

Introduction

Objectives

Guaranteeing a more effective enforcement of EU state aid law at national level

The training course will exhaustively address all instances in which national (tax) judges have competences in order to guarantee an effective enforcement of EU state aid law (including recovery procedures). The possibilities of cooperation with the EU Commission will be deeply explored. The distinction between assessments concerning the violation of fundamental freedoms and state aid control will be addressed with specific emphasis on the role of national judges in this respect. Also the principle of legitimate expectation will be analysed by taking into consideration the role of national judges, tax administrations and national legislators.

For further details, please check our “Program”.

Developing legal linguistic skills of national judges

The training course also aims at improving the linguistic skills of national (tax) judges. The participating judges will be provided with specialized training in both Legal English and Legal Translation.

Creating networks

The training course will bring together national (tax) judges of four different EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands). Judges will meet, discuss common problems and exchange their experiences.

How the training works

4 seminars will be organized in videoconference by using innovative ‘Digital classrooms’ made available by each partner university and in which all most innovative e-learning technologies can be used. In the course of these seminars judges will have the possibility to interact and discuss together the specific issues dealt with.

4 workshops will be held at Tilburg University and the University of Bologna. During the workshops judges will have the possibility to meet all together in person and share their experiences. This possibility will be also guaranteed in the course of the final conference which will be held in the premises of Tilburg University.

The project, which is co-financed by the EU Commission, will cover all expenses for 20 judges (5 judges per each EU Member State involved).

Partner universities

The project is the result of the collaboration between the following partner universities:

Tilburg University

  • Fiscal Institute Tilburg (FIT)

University of Bologna

  • The European School of Advanced Fiscal Studies (SEAST)

University of Antwerp  

  • The Antwerp Tax Academy

Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)

  • The Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law

The project has also been developed with the official support of national institutions representing or, in any case, composed by national (tax) judges in the EU Member States involved in the project:

  • Court of Appeal of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Gerechtshof ‘s-Hertogenbosch), for the Netherlands.
  • Higher Council of Tax Judges (Consiglio di Presidenza della Giustizia Tributaria), for Italy.
  • Austrian Association of Tax Judges (Osterreichische Finanzrichteruereiningung), for Austria.
Experts in EU state aid law

Tilburg University

  • Professor Peter Essers
  • Professor Eric Kemmeren
  • Professor Leigh Hancher (TILEC)
  • Dr. Carla De Pietro
  • Dr. Cees Peters

University of Bologna

  • Associate Professor Giangiacomo D’Angelo

Vienna University of Economics and Business

  • Dr. Rita Szudoczky
  • Dr. Raffaele Petruzzi
  • Alexandra Miladinovic LL.M, BsC
  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. DDr. h. c. Michael Lang

University of Antwerp

  • Professor Bruno Peeters
  • Professor Anne van de Vijver

Contact

Local coordinator

  • dr. C. De Pietro

Central organization

  • F.M.W. (Femke) van Diemen-Poort MA

Co-financed by

Partner universities