Conclusions

Abstract

Effective 8 October 2004, the first EU-wide available legal entity, the so-called European Company or Societas Europaea (SE), has been introduced via the European Company Statute. The aim of the introduction of the SE was to remove barriers to trade and facilitate the adaptation of structures of production to the EU dimension in order to strengthen the competitiveness of European companies and to improve the functioning of the internal market. This was regarded as necessary since the laws of the member states in the European Union (e.g. company law, tax law) are orientated towards domestic transactions rather than towards cross-border transactions. Whereas the European Company Statute regulates cross-border transactions (formation and transfer of the registered office within the EU) from the perspective of company law, tax law has not been included in this Statute. Instead, the SE is bound to existing laws. With regard to the above mentioned cross-border restructurings, the Merger Directive is of major importance regarding the facilitation of such transactions. Furthermore, it has been proposed to use the SE as a pilot scheme in approaches further harmonizing the direct tax systems in the EU in order to achieve an internal market from a tax perspective.