Tag Archives: Austria
15 December 2013
On 10 December 2013, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a judgment in Case C 394/12. It held that the opportunities for an asylum seeker to challenge a decision to transfer him/her under the Dublin II Regulation are limited once a member state has agreed to take charge of the examination of his/her application. This decision can only be overturned when there are systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and reception conditions of that member state.
The case concerned a Somali national, Ms. Abdullahi, who entered Greece irregularly by boat. She travelled to Austria via the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. The Austrian authorities requested Hungary to take charge of her under the Dublin II Regulation, and Hungary accepted. Ms. Abdullahi appealed the transfer request and a dispute arose as to whether Greece or Hungary was responsible for examining the asylum claim in light of Article 10(1) of the Dublin II Regulation. The Austrian court asked the CJEU to clarify the procedure for determining responsibility.
Source: Court of Justice of the European Union | Case C‑394/12 | Request for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Asylgerichtshof (Austria), in the proceedings Shamso Abdullahi v. Bundesasylamt | Judgment | 10 December 2013
12 June 2013
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has made curbing tax avoidance the central theme of next week’s G8 summit. In May, the G7 industrialized nations agreed on the need for collective action against tax avoidance, and the EU followed suit by promising action against aggressive tax planning used by multinationals to minimize their tax payments, but low-tax Austria is yet to confirm its participation in the scheme.
The promise for collective action comes after widespread public debate over corporate tax minimization policies and the publication of figures suggesting that multinational corporations use tax havens to deny developing economies revenues needed for public services. According to the OECD, developing countries lose three times more money to tax havens each year than they receive in aid. Recent reactions by developing nations, including treaty cancellations by Mongolia, however, are dangerous unilateral actions further stressing the need to reach agreement on how to deal with tax avoidance in the forthcoming G8 and G20 meetings, an OECD representative said to BBC.
Source: The Guardian | Cameron calls in tax havens ahead of G8 summit in June
Source: The Guardian | UK's top companies condemned for prolific use of tax havens
Source: The Guardian | G7 agrees action needed against tax evasion, says George Osborne
Source: The Guardian | Tax havens are entrenching poverty in developing countries
Source: BBC | EU leaders in drive against tax evasion at Brussels summit
Source: BBC | Osborne: G7 agree to target tax evasion and avoidance
Soruce: BBC | Tax avoidance: Developing countries take on multinationals
Source: ActionAid | Tax Justice Policy
11 June 2013
On 6 June 2013, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that Austria violated an asylum seeker’s right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) against the decision to be sent back to Hungary under the Dublin regulation.
The applicant, a Sudanese asylum seeker, had also presented a claim of possible ill-treatment and refoulement (Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights) in Hungary if returned under the Dublin regulation. The ECtHR held that his transfer would not violate Article 3.
Source: European Court of Human Rights | Case of Mohammed v. Austria | Application no. 2283/12 | Judgment | 6 June 2013