DOCSLIB.ORG

Tax Evasion, Money Laundering and Tax Transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tax Evasion, Money Laundering and Tax Transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Ex-Post Impact Assessment Tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Ex-Post Impact Assessment Study At their meeting of 12 October 2016, the coordinators of the European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) took the decision to request from the Directorate General for European Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) to produce the following study: ‘Assessment of the legal, political and institutional framework on offshore practices related to tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT), as defined in Annex II (TFEU), and the relations of the OCTs with EU Member States.’ The opening analysis was prepared in-house by the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within EPRS, whereas the specific contributions on individual Member States were commissioned from external experts. It is hoped that this analysis will feed into ongoing discussions in the PANA inquiry committee on the effective implementation and enforcement of EU law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion in and by Member States and their associate and dependent territories. Abstract This study aims to present the legal, political and institutional framework governing offshore practices in the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the European Union, which fall under the sovereignty of four Member States: Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It contains an opening analysis that defines the key concepts, including tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency; outlines the scope of the study (to differentiate the OCTs from other places often mentioned within the context of offshore financial services); and briefly describes the particular case of Greenland. In addition, a comparative analysis of the legal, political and institutional framework governing EU relations with and within the respective OCTs is complemented by an overview of the EU framework and opportunities for action. This aspect can be of significance, especially in view of the UK’s announced withdrawal from the European Union. The detailed annexed contributions covering the OCTs under French, Dutch and British rule, and which constitute a basis for this analysis, were written by external experts. Ex-Post Impact Assessment EDITORS Dr Isabelle Ioannides and Jan Tymowski, Ex-Post Evaluation Unit To contact the Unit, please email: [email protected] ABOUT THE PUBLISHER This paper has been drawn up by the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within the Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services of the Secretariat of the European Parliament. LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN This document is available on the internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. Manuscript completed in April 2017. Brussels © European Union, 2017. PE 593.803 ISBN 978-92-846-0819-5 doi:10.2861/080148 QA-02-17-310-EN-N PE 593.803 4 Tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Contents Executive summary ....................................................................................................................... 7 Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 9 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 10 2. Objectives of the study........................................................................................................ 10 3. Methodology and structure of the study ......................................................................... 11 4. Key concepts ........................................................................................................................ 12 4.1. Definitions of tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency ................. 13 4.2. Identifying the Overseas Countries and Territories .............................................. 15 4.3. Which territories are not examined ......................................................................... 17 5. The case of Greenland ......................................................................................................... 20 6. Comparative analysis of the case studies ......................................................................... 22 6.1. Legal framework ........................................................................................................ 22 6.2. Political framework.................................................................................................... 25 6.3. Institutional framework ............................................................................................ 27 7. The EU framework .............................................................................................................. 30 7.1. EU initiatives on tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency ............ 30 7.2. EU influence on the OCTs ......................................................................................... 33 7.3. Openings for a more pro-active EU ......................................................................... 35 8. Conclusions: the way forward ........................................................................................... 36 9. References ............................................................................................................................. 38 List of Tables Table 1: Key data on the EU Overseas Countries and Territories ......................................... 15 Annexes Annex I - In-depth analysis evaluating the legal, political and institutional framework concerning offshore practices related to tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) of France, as defined in Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and the relations of France with those OCTs ........................................................................................................ 41 PE 593.803 5 Ex-Post Impact Assessment Annex II - In-depth analysis evaluating the legal, political and institutional framework concerning offshore practices related to tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as defined in Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and the relations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with those OCTs ... 93 Annex III - In-depth analysis evaluating the legal, political and institutional framework concerning offshore practices related to tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the United Kingdom, as defined in Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and the relations of the United Kingdom with those OCTs ........................................................ 145 PE 593.803 6 Tax evasion, money laundering and tax transparency in the EU Overseas Countries and Territories Executive summary The release of the Panama Papers has triggered additional efforts – including by the European Parliament – to understand the relationship, on the one hand, of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), some of which are commonly considered as tax havens, and, on the other, of the EU Member States to which they are related (Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom). Notwithstanding the importance of according equal attention to other outermost regions, including those that are of concern in the areas of financial services and taxation, this study limits its analysis to the OCTs listed in Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). With regard to the OCTs’ legal status, the situation differs between the individual Member States and between the territories subject to their sovereignty. While some of them, including those active in financial services that ‘belong’ to the UK and three countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten), seem to have reached a status of quasi-independent countries with significant freedom for self-governance, others (especially the French OCTs) remain formally autonomous but under the clear and tight control of the Member State. In the case of Greenland, which is the only OCT associated with Denmark, its decision to withdraw from the EU might eventually lead to full independence once the economic situation allows. The institutional arrangements
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Understanding French Foreign and Security Policy Towards Africa: Pragmatism Or Altruism Abdurrahim Sıradağ1
    Afro Eurasian Studies Journal Vol 3. Issue 1, Spring 2014 Understanding French Foreign and Security Policy towards Africa: Pragmatism or Altruism Abdurrahim Sıradağ1 Abstract France has deep economic, political and historical relations with Africa, dating back to the 17th century. Since the independence of the former colonial countries in Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, France has continued to maintain its economic and political relations with its former colonies. Importantly, France has a special strategic security partnership with the African countries. It has intervened militarily in Africa more than 50 times since 1960. France has especially continued to use its military power to strengthen its economic, political and strategic relations with Africa. For instance, it deployed its military troops in Mali in January 2013 and in the Central African Republic in December 2013. Why does France actively get involved in Africa militarily? This research will particularly uncover the main motivations behind the French foreign and security policy in Africa. Key words: Francophone Africa, France, Foreign Policy, Africa, economic interests. The Role of France in World Politics France’s international power and position has shaped its foreign and security policy towards Africa. France has been an important actor with its political and economic power in Europe and in the world. It was one of the six important founding members of the European Community after 1 International University of Sarajevo, Department of International Relations, Ilidža, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Email: [email protected] 100 the Second World War and plays a leading role in European integration. France plays a significant role in world politics through international or- ganizations.
    [Show full text]
  • 8.. Colonialism in the Horn of Africa
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The state, the crisis of state institutions and refugee migration in the Horn of Africa : the cases of Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia Degu, W.A. Publication date 2002 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Degu, W. A. (2002). The state, the crisis of state institutions and refugee migration in the Horn of Africa : the cases of Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. Thela Thesis. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:30 Sep 2021 8.. COLONIALISM IN THE HORN OF AFRICA 'Perhapss there is no other continent in the world where colonialism showed its face in suchh a cruel and brutal form as it did in Africa. Under colonialism the people of Africa sufferedd immensely.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Copenhagen FACULTY of SOCIAL SCIENCES Faculty of Social Sciences UNIVERSITY of COPENHAGEN · DENMARK PHD DISSERTATION 2019 · ISBN 978-87-7209-312-3
    Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies Jacobsen, Marc Publication date: 2019 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (APA): Jacobsen, M. (2019). Arctic identity interactions: Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies. Download date: 11. okt.. 2021 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE university of copenhagen FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES faculty of social sciences UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN · DENMARK PHD DISSERTATION 2019 · ISBN 978-87-7209-312-3 MARC JACOBSEN Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies and Denmark’s Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s identity interactions Arctic Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies PhD Dissertation 2019 Marc Jacobsen DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE university of copenhagen FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES faculty of social sciences UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN · DENMARK PHD DISSERTATION 2019 · ISBN 978-87-7209-312-3 MARC JACOBSEN Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies and Denmark’s Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s identity interactions Arctic Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies PhD Dissertation 2019 Marc Jacobsen Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies Marc Jacobsen PhD Dissertation Department of Political Science University of Copenhagen September 2019 Main supervisor: Professor Ole Wæver, University of Copenhagen. Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Ulrik Pram Gad, Aalborg University.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding African Armies
    REPORT Nº 27 — April 2016 Understanding African armies RAPPORTEURS David Chuter Florence Gaub WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM Taynja Abdel Baghy, Aline Leboeuf, José Luengo-Cabrera, Jérôme Spinoza Reports European Union Institute for Security Studies EU Institute for Security Studies 100, avenue de Suffren 75015 Paris http://www.iss.europa.eu Director: Antonio Missiroli © EU Institute for Security Studies, 2016. Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated. Print ISBN 978-92-9198-482-4 ISSN 1830-9747 doi:10.2815/97283 QN-AF-16-003-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-9198-483-1 ISSN 2363-264X doi:10.2815/088701 QN-AF-16-003-EN-N Published by the EU Institute for Security Studies and printed in France by Jouve. Graphic design by Metropolis, Lisbon. Maps: Léonie Schlosser; António Dias (Metropolis). Cover photograph: Kenyan army soldier Nicholas Munyanya. Credit: Ben Curtis/AP/SIPA CONTENTS Foreword 5 Antonio Missiroli I. Introduction: history and origins 9 II. The business of war: capacities and conflicts 15 III. The business of politics: coups and people 25 IV. Current and future challenges 37 V. Food for thought 41 Annexes 45 Tables 46 List of references 65 Abbreviations 69 Notes on the contributors 71 ISSReportNo.27 List of maps Figure 1: Peace missions in Africa 8 Figure 2: Independence of African States 11 Figure 3: Overview of countries and their armed forces 14 Figure 4: A history of external influences in Africa 17 Figure 5: Armed conflicts involving African armies 20 Figure 6: Global peace index 22 Figure
    [Show full text]
  • In (Hc Abscncc of Any Other Rcqucst to Speak. the Prc\Idcnt ;\Djourncd The
    Part II 25s _-. .-_--.--.-_---. __. -. In (hc abscncc of any other rcqucst to speak. the At ths came meeting. the rcprcsentativc of F-rancc Prc\idcnt ;\djourncd the deb;ltc. sn)ing th<it the Security rcvicucd the background of the matter and stntrd that ( (1unc11 would rcm;rin scilcd of the quc\~~on 50 that II In IIcccmbcr 1974, the l,rcnch Government had organ- mlpht rc\umc con~ldcrntion of it :it any appropriate ~/cd a conhuttation of thz Comorian population which llrne.“‘-“‘ rcsultcd in a large majority in Favour of indcpendencc. Howcvcr. two thirds of the votes in the island of klayotte were negative. The French parliament adopted Decision of 6 I:ebruary 1976 ( IHHXth meeting): rcJcc- on 30 June I975 a law providing for the drafting of a lion of c-Power draft resolution constitution prcscrving the political and administrative In a telegram’Oz’ dated 28 January 1976, the Head of rdentit) of the islands. Although only the French State of the Comoros informed the President of the parliament could decide to transfer sovereignty, the Security Council that the French Govcrnmcnt intended Chamber of Deputies of the Comoros proclaimed the TV, organilr a referendum in the island of Mayotte on 8 independence of the island> on 5 July 1975. I’sbruary 1976. tie pointed out that Muyottc was an On 31 Dcccmbcr. the French Government recognired lntcgral part of Comorian territory under French laws the indcpcndcnce of the islands of Grandc-Comore, and that on I2 November 1975, the linitcd Nations had Anjouan. and Mohfli but provided for the pcoplc of admitted the C‘omorian State consisting of the four Mayottc to make a choice between the island remaining lhland:, of Anjouan, Mayottc.
    [Show full text]
  • Download (515Kb)
    European Community No. 26/1984 July 10, 1984 Contact: Ella Krucoff (202) 862-9540 THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: 1984 ELECTION RESULTS :The newly elected European Parliament - the second to be chosen directly by European voters -- began its five-year term last month with an inaugural session in Strasbourg~ France. The Parliament elected Pierre Pflimlin, a French Christian Democrat, as its new president. Pflimlin, a parliamentarian since 1979, is a former Prime Minister of France and ex-mayor of Strasbourg. Be succeeds Pieter Dankert, a Dutch Socialist, who came in second in the presidential vote this time around. The new assembly quickly exercised one of its major powers -- final say over the European Community budget -- by blocking payment of a L983 budget rebate to the United Kingdom. The rebate had been approved by Community leaders as part of an overall plan to resolve the E.C.'s financial problems. The Parliament froze the rebate after the U.K. opposed a plan for covering a 1984 budget shortfall during a July Council of Ministers meeting. The issue will be discussed again in September by E.C. institutions. Garret FitzGerald, Prime Minister of Ireland, outlined for the Parliament the goals of Ireland's six-month presidency of the E.C. Council. Be urged the representatives to continue working for a more unified Europe in which "free movement of people and goods" is a reality, and he called for more "intensified common action" to fight unemployment. Be said European politicians must work to bolster the public's faith in the E.C., noting that budget problems and inter-governmental "wrangles" have overshadolted the Community's benefits.
    [Show full text]
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
    [Show full text]
  • House of Lords Official Report
    Vol. 712 Thursday No. 101 2 July 2009 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Royal Assent Questions Energy Performance Certificates Disabled People: UN Convention EU: Financial Institutions Comprehensive Spending Review Parliamentary Standards Bill First Reading Five Statutory Instruments Motions to Refer to Grand Committee Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill Committee (4th Day) Swine Flu Statement Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (Violent Offender Orders) (Notification Requirements) Regulations 2009 Motion to Approve Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Foreign Travel Notification Requirements) Regulations 2009 Motion to Approve Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill Committee (4th Day) (Continued) Grand Committee Welfare Reform Bill Committee (8th Day) Written Statements Written Answers For column numbers see back page £3·50 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. The bound volumes also will be sent to those Peers who similarly notify their wish to receive them. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/index/090702.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £3·50 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £525 WEEKLY HANSARD Single copies: Commons, £12; Lords £6 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £440; Lords £255 Index—Single copies: Commons, £6·80—published every three weeks Annual subscriptions: Commons, £125; Lords, £65.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy
    Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy How do democracies form and what makes them die? Daniel Ziblatt revisits this timely and classic question in a wide-ranging historical narrative that traces the evolution of modern political democracy in Europe from its modest beginnings in 1830s Britain to Adolf Hitler’s 1933 seizure of power in Weimar Germany. Based on rich historical and quantitative evidence, the book offers a major reinterpretation of European history and the question of how stable political democracy is achieved. The barriers to inclusive political rule, Ziblatt finds, were not inevitably overcome by unstoppable tides of socioeconomic change, a simple triumph of a growing middle class, or even by working class collective action. Instead, political democracy’s fate surprisingly hinged on how conservative political parties – the historical defenders of power, wealth, and privilege – recast themselves and coped with the rise of their own radical right. With striking modern parallels, the book has vital implications for today’s new and old democracies under siege. Daniel Ziblatt is Professor of Government at Harvard University where he is also a resident fellow of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. He is also currently Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute. His first book, Structuring the State: The Formation of Italy and Germany and the Puzzle of Federalism (2006) received several prizes from the American Political Science Association. He has written extensively on the emergence of democracy in European political history, publishing in journals such as American Political Science Review, Journal of Economic History, and World Politics.
    [Show full text]
  • Access to Public Services in the Overseas Territories
    ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES IN THE OVERSEAS TERRITORIES For decades, the Overseas Territories led to short-lived awareness and have suffered from various gaps in insufficient corrective measures in OVERSEES DELEGATION DELEGATION OVERSEES access to public services, with highly view of the deep-seated difficulties varied circumstances. The ESEC finds facing the territories. These repeated that the disparities are still quite protests should be seen as an significant, not only with mainland expression of anger at the broken France, but also within and between promises and the distress of our fellow the various overseas territories. citizens in the overseas territories. Michele Chay For example, French Guiana, Mayotte The findings of this study have Michèle Chay, former Confederal and Saint-Martin are experiencing been widely corroborated by the Secretary and former General particularly troubling difficulties. various hearings and interviews Secretary of the CGT trade Apart from the many reasons for these conducted with trade union and federation, is Vice-President of situations, the ESEC cannot tolerate the Labour and Employment association representatives in the Section, where she represents variable outcomes that jeopardise various territories. The findings of the the CGT Group, and a member of equal rights and effective access to National Consultative Commission the Overseas Delegation. primary public services. on Human Rights, presented at the colloquium held on 14 June 2018 Contact: With [email protected] (Outre-mer: à vos droits!),
    [Show full text]
  • University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting
    PATHS TO SUCCESS, PATHS TO FAILURE: HISTORICAL TRAJECTORIES TO DEMOCRATIC STABILITY By ADAM BILINSKI A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 1 © 2015 Adam Bilinski 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout the work on this project, I received enormous help from a number of people. The indispensable assistance was provided by my advisor Michael Bernhard, who encouraged me to work on the project since I arrived at the University of Florida. He gave me valuable and timely feedback, and his wide knowledge of the European political history and research methods proved irreplaceable in this regard. He is otherwise a warm, humble and an understanding person, a scholar who does not mind and even appreciates when a graduate student is critical toward his own ideas, which is a feature whose value cannot be overestimated. I received also valuable assistance from members of my dissertation committee: Benjamin Smith, Leonardo A. Villalon, Beth Rosenson and Chris Gibson. In particular, Ben Smith taught me in an accessible way about the foundational works in Political Science, which served as an inspiration to write this dissertation, while Chris Gibson offered very useful feedback on quantitative research methods. In addition, I received enormous help from two scholars at the University of Chicago, where this research project passed through an adolescent stage. Dan Slater, my advisor, and Alberto Simpser helped me transform my incoherent hypotheses developed in Poland into a readable master’s thesis, which I completed in 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • The Centrum Party's Influence in German Affairs. the Future Contest
    180 THE OPEN COURT. THE CENTRUM PARTY'S INFLUENCE IN GER- MAN AFFAIRS. THE FUTURE CONTEST BETWEEN CLERICALISM AND SOCIALISM. BY EDWARD T. HEYN. Former American Vice-Consul. IT is greatly surprising that, although thousands and thousands of articles on German political conditions have appeared in America since the world war, but little has been said of the stupendous in- fluence of the powerful Centrum or Clerical Party. That the Cen- trum however is an important factor to-day in Germany was fully demonstrated a few months ago when Count von Hertling, a decided ultramontane and former Centrum leader was appointed German Chancellor. Hertling's present, somewhat lukewarm support of the important bill for the reform of the Prussian franchise, as well as the decided opposition to the same measure by a large faction of the Centrum in the Prussian Diet, is abundant proof that the party is not very much in favor of a very radical democratization of German political institutions. The Centrum Party or Center, why so called ? It was so named because its members occupy seats in the center of the German Parliament. Considered politically, the name "Center" admirably characterizes its tendencies, for during its entire history the party has taken an attitude midway between that of the Conservatives and the radical parties of the Left. On many questions, in fact, this party throughout its history has been unstable, assuming a character at times very conservative, while under other conditions it has displayed democratic and very popular tendencies. Does the Center Party deserve the name "Clerical." so em- phatically repudiated by its followers? Let it be said, that before the war there were 23,821,453 Roman Catholics in Germany (as against 39,991,421 Protestants), the majority of which belonged to the "Centrum," "the only party," in the words of the now frequently mentioned Dr.
    [Show full text]