European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP

Treaties are neutral whether shares of undertakings are in private or public ownership)
does not offer a restriction for the EU to deal with property law matters. 28 In
fact there is existing and upcoming legislation dealing directly with property law. 29
However, moving directly into the field of property law, especially land law, is
a highly sensitive matter and politically very controversial. Property law, especially
ownership, is the cornerstone of many legal systems and as such is the basis of
other areas of law such as succession, marriage and taxation. However, in the
light of the further completion of the internal market, there are good reasons to
try and facilitate cross-border trader.
Currently there are two private initiatives that deserve consideration. The
European Land Information System (EULIS) seeks to (electronically) link land registration
systems of the Member States to enable buyers easier access to information
on the land they are about the acquire. Secondly, the Cross-Border Electronic
Conveyancing of Land (or CROBECO) project, initiated and coordinated by the
European Land Registry Association (ELRA), seeks to work with existing legal systems
and differences between these and attempts to create a situation where buyers
can arrange all their affairs with their own notary in their own Member States, but
effectively acquiring a principal property entitlement to land in other Member State.
Such projects show the need to increase cross-border trade in respect to land
and the problems encountered by these projects may be the first areas in which
the European Union can directly assist. An example of this can be the nationality
requirement of notaries, currently under attack by the CJEU, or the requirement
that a deed can only be registered if it was passed by a national notary.
If there is political will to move into the area of property law then Article 114
TFEU could offer a possible legal basis. This article can be used to remedy deficiencies
with the internal market where there is a substantial hindrance to its function-
28 See Bram Akkermans and Eveline Ramaekers, Article 345 TFEU (Ex. Article 295 EC
Treaty). Its meanings and interpretations in European Law Journal (2010), 292–314.
29 Directive 2002/47/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 6 June 2002 on financial
collateral, Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of
13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emmission allowance trading
within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC. Green Paper on
Wills and Succession COM(2005) 65 final. See Bram Akkermans, The EU Development
of European Property Law, in Christine Godt (Ed.), Hanse Law School in Perspective –
Legal Teaching and Cross Border Research after Lisbon (The Hague, Kluwer, 2011).
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