EU taxation of multinationals—bypassing the unanimity blockage – by Tommaso Faccio and Francesco Saraceno

he French car-service company Heetch recently displayed an advertising campaign on the streets of Paris (see photo), which proudly affirmed its presence in many French cities but not in Luxembourg—a clear allusion to the tax headquarters of some of its competitors. The fact that ‘paying taxes in France’ has become a commercial argument shows that the issue of corporate avoidance is rising up the public agenda in many countries.

Yet the G20 process on taxing digital firms and introducing a global minimum tax to limit tax competition, led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, failed to reach consensus in 2020, mostly because of determination by the United States to protect its digital giants. The European Commission has made clear that, were the G20 to fail to deliver a global solution by mid-2021, it will act. But the EU is stuck between a rock—the US position will likely not change with the new administration—and a hard place: its own tax havens.

Read more at: EU taxation of multinationals—bypassing the unanimity blockage – Tommaso Faccio and Francesco Saraceno

Global Happiness list: Netherlands one of the top 10 happiest countries globally in 2020 ranking 6th - Finland No 1 - US 18 th.- Turkey 79 th. - lowest: Afghanistan 110 th.

The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries around the world according to how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. 2020 marks the eighth edition of the report and has the theme “environments for happiness”. It examines data from 2017, 2018, and 2019 to put together a conclusive ranking.

The ranking is compiled using data from the Gallup World Poll, in which respondents are asked to evaluate the happiness of their own lives on a scale of one to 10. Using the survey results, the ranking also shows the estimated extent to which six different factors impact happiness:

Gross Domestic Product per capita, Life expectancy, Social support, Freedom, Corruption,

According to the 2020 report, the 10 happiest countries in the world are: 1) Finland 2) Denmark 3) Switzerland 4) Iceland 5) Norway 6) The Netherlands 7) Sweden 8) New Zealand 9) Austria 10 Luxembourg

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Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium begin joint air policing - by Nicholas Fiorenza

 Two Belgian Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft began the joint air policing of the airspace of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux) on 1 January.

The Belgian fighters will be on 15-minute quick reaction alert (QRA) for the first four months of 2017, after which two Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16s will take over.

The arrangement was agreed by the Benelux in March 2015. Until the end of 2016, two Belgian F-16s were on QRA for Belgium and Luxembourg and two Dutch F-16s for the Netherlands.

Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput described the arrangement as "ground breaking". Similarly, his Dutch counterpart, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called it a "milestone", adding, "The pilots and fighter aircraft we thereby free up can be deployed elsewhere, for example in the UN, EU or whatever other context." The agreement will also allow more flight training, Vandeput pointed out.

Vandeput said no other countries trust each other to deal with air threats within each other's' borders. The authorities of the country over which an air threat emerges can now give instructions to the fighters on QRA, whether Belgian or Dutch. The Belgian defence minister would do so through the control and reporting centre in Glons, Belgium, while the Dutch minister for security and justice would do the same through the air operations control station in Nieuw Milligen, the Netherlands. The defence minister of Luxembourg is the responsible authority of the Grand Duchy.

The technical agreement on Benelux air policing was signed on 21 December 2016 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by the commander of the Belgian Air Component, Major General Frederik Vansina, his RNLAF counterpart, Lieutenant General Dennis Luyt, and Luxembourg's ambassador to the Netherlands, Pierre-Louis Lorenz.The two Belgian F-16s currently on QRA are bas

Read more: Netherlands and Belgium begin joint air policing | IHS Jane's 360

Belgium - Nuclear P)ower Plants: Belgium's ageing nuclear plants worry neighbours

http://phys.org/ reports : "As the two cooling towers at Belgium's Doel nuclear power belch thick white steam into a wintry sky, people over the border in the Dutch town of Nieuw-Namen are on edge.

They are part of a groundswell of concern in the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg over the safety of Belgium's seven ageing reactors at Doel and at Tihange, further to the south and east.

"I'm happy Holland, Germany and Luxembourg are reacting because they (officials) don't listen to you and me," butcher Filip van Vlierberge told AFP at his shop in Nieuw-Namen, where people can see the Doel plant.

Benedicte, one of his customers, nodded in agreement.

Van Vlierberge said he was particularly uneasy with the Belgian government's decision in December to extend the lives of 40-year-old reactors Doel 1 and Doel 2 until 2025 under a deal to preserve jobs and invest in the transition to cleaner energy.

"I'm concerned they are too old," he said.

Belgium's creaking nuclear plants have been causing safety concerns with its neighbours for some time now after a series of problems ranging from leaks to cracks and an unsolved sabotage incident.

Luxembourg's sustainable development minister Camille Gira is due in Belgium on Monday to raise his concerns".

Almere-Digest