Open your eyes : what the "open skies" cases could mean for the US tax treaties with the EU Member States

The ECJ told the EU Member States to open their skies to each other as well as to the US when it decided eight cases on aviation treaties on 5 November 2001. Summary of the legislative framework of EC rights and bilateral treaties and a look at two examples of conflict between tax treaties and EC law (a conflict between secondary EC law relating to capital gains on group reorganizations and the Spain-US treaty and a conflict between primary EC law on the freedom of establishment and the new UK-US treaty). Also a brief explanation of the duty of the Member States to remove incompatibilities and the remedies available.