Agefi Luxembourg - mars 2025

AGEFI Luxembourg 40 Mars 2025 Droit / Emploi Lex Delles au premier Conseil «Compétitivité» sous présidence polonaise à Bruxelles «Nos entreprises ont besoin d'agir dans un environnement clair et simple» L eministre de l'Écono- mie, des PME, de l'Énergie et du Tou- risme, LexDelles, s'est rendu à Bruxelles le 12mars pour assister à la première réunion duConseil «Com- pétitivité» de l'Union euro- péenne sous présidence polonaise. L'actualité politique a dominé les travaux des ministres, qui se sont déroulés dans la foulée de l'an- nonce de la Commission euro- péenne d'augmenter les droits de douane sur un grand nombre de produits américains, mesure de rétorsion face aux tarifs imposés par les États-Unis sur l'acier et l'aluminium en provenance de l'UE. La situationactuellede tarifs douaniers de part est d'autre de l'Atlantiqueest«regrettable»selon leministre. Dans ce contexte, Lex Delles s'est exprimé en faveur d'un soutien accrupourlesecteurdelasidérur- gie, déjà confronté à des surcapa- cités sur lemarchémondial et une concurrence ardue : «Il est urgent d'agircontrelecontournementdu Mécanisme d'Ajustement Car- bone aux Frontières. Attendre jusqu'en 2026 est trop risqué». Plus généralement, le Ministre Delles a plaidé pour la simplifica- tion du cadre réglementaire de l'UE, qui passe avant tout par des règles communes simples. «Nos entreprises ont besoin d'agir dans un environnement clair et simple, qui ne ressemble pas àunmillefeuillede règles na- tionales divergentes. Il est temps d'utiliser pleinement la force du marché intérieur.» C'estpourquoiilasoulignélesou- tien du Luxembourg pour le pa- quet de mesures «omnibus» mis enavant par laCommissioneuro- péenne, qui vise à simplifier les charges administratives et régle- mentaires prévues par plusieurs directiveseuropéennes,dontladi- rective «devoir de vigilance» et la directive sur les informations en matière de durabilité. «Nous devons trouver des moyens plus simples et propor- tionnéspouratteindrenosobjectifs politiques comme la décarbona- tion d'industrie et le respect des droits humains. Il ne s'agit pas de diluer ou de remettre en cause les objectifs, mais de permettre à nos entreprises de se focaliser sur l'es- sentiel en minimisant les pape- rasses», a souligné LexDelles. En effet, face aux défis géopoli- tiques actuels, les 27 États mem- bres doivent travailler ensemble pour créer une action législative commune : «one in, twenty-seven out», comme l'a qualifié leminis- tre luxembourgeois. Il faut avan- cer rapidement et aller plus loin encore, à travers une approche harmonisée. Lesrestrictionsterritorialesdel'of- fre constituent un exemple de l'absence continue de marché in- térieur : l'Union européenne reste fragmentée par des barrières structurelles qui empêchent les distributeursde librement choisir leurs fournisseurs. Lex Delles a encouragé la Commission à pré- senter une initiative législativevi- sant à interdire ces pratiques qui affectent surtout les PME et le consommateur final. Source : ministère de l'Économie Lex Delles, ministre de l’Économie, des PME, de l’Énergie et du Tourisme ; Teresa Ribera, Vice-Présidente exécutive de la Commission européenne ©Conseil de l’UE T he management of the Vatican financial resources has always been a source of concern for the Church and beyond. It is also known that its financial organisation has raised numerous criticism in the past. No need to recall the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in 1982 and its links with the Vatican bank. The press and the litera- ture have also provided additio- nal rumours and dark stories as illustrated by the American epic crime film The Godfather 3 . Morethan40yearselapsed.PopeBenedict XVI then Pope Francis have since re- formed the Vatican financial systemwith theaimto improving its transparency, ac- countabilityandefficiency.ManyVatican institutionsareinvolvedregularlyininter- nationalfinancialtransactionsandthisar- ticle aims to outline the main features of Vaticanfinancial law. (1) TheVatican financial legal framework Radical reforms under Pope Benedict XVI. ThekeyreformsoftheVaticanfinan- cial systemand its institutions have taken place under the leadership of Pope Bene- dictXVI.Definitelyturningthepageofthe old scandals, the aimof theGermanpope was to enable theHoly See to purge its fi- nances and to complywith the applicable international financial standards. It is with the Monetary Agreement be- tween the EuropeanUnion and theVat- ican City State dated 17 December 2009 (2010/C 28/05) that the current Vatican financial system effectively came to ex- istence by being entitled to use the euro as its official currency (article 1) and “adopt all appropriatemeasures” in the field of anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) (article 8) (2) . TheHoly See has then submitted in 2011 an official request for cooperation to MONEYVAL, the European arm of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). As a permanentmonitoringbodyoftheCoun- cil of Europe, MONEYVAL enables the assessmentofcountries’compliancewith legislation and effective implementation in relation to AML/CFT. And as from 2012, the Holy See has worked hand in hand with MONEYVAL to enable the Vatican to comply with all the required AML/CFT regulatory standards. Since then, radical changes have been im- plemented by the Holy See in order to comply with such rules and standards. One of the core changes was the enact- ment by Pope Benedict XVI of the Motu Proprio forthePreventionandCountering ofIllegalActivitiesintheareaofmonetary and financial dealings which notably es- tablished theVaticanfinancial authority. Strengthening the legal arsenal under PopeFrancis .Since2013,alltheadditional legislation has been built in line with and to supplement thework realised by Pope Benedict XVI. These changes notably in- clude the enactments of the LawXVIII on transparency, supervision and financial intelligenceof8October2013,theStatutes of the Vatican Council for Economy, Sec- retariatfortheEconomy,andGeneralAu- ditor of 22 February 2015, Regulation no. 3 on payment services of 23 May 2018, and the Law CCLVII on market abuse dated28September2018.TheHolySeeis stilladaptingonanongoing-basisandim- provingitsfinanciallawsandregulations. The current focus of the Holy See is re- lated to the question of public contract andprocurement. Legacy . Following the last evaluation re- port approved inMay 2024, theHoly See has received a positive assessment from the group of experts. Its sustained efforts to comply with international financial standards have been highlighted. A next evaluationoftheHolySee’stechnicalcom- pliance is scheduled for 2028 to assess its ongoing implementation of AML/CFT measures. “TheHoly See has in fine com- pleteditsAML/CFTrequiredlegislationin 2013” according to Bertrand deMazières, arecognisedexpertinfinancialregulation. He states that “as one who drafted the French regulation needed to submit France to the international cooperation within the FAFT framework, Iwould like to recall that this system was created in 1989.TheVaticanhasnowassumeditsre- sponsibility but it is a latecomer”. For Domenico Musso, a lawyer spe- cialised in Vatican financial law, “Pope Benedict’simpulsehasbroughtamassive contribution that has never happenedbe- fore”. Beforehim, the ideawas always “to put the dust under the carpet”. For DomenicoMusso, one of the key success ofthesereformswastheabilityofthePope to delegate to “competent people” rather than delegating to “trusted people”. In doing so, the Pope has taken important risksinasmalljurisdictionliketheVatican. However, it was a necessary step to suc- cessfully implement viable changes. The financial bodies of theHolySee The structure and organisation of re- sponsibilities within the Holy See, in- cluding all the relevant financial bodies and their relevant missions, are pro- vided in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium on the Roman Curia and its service to theChurch in the world issued by Pope Francis in 2022 . Council for the Economy . Created in 2013, the Consiglio per l’Economia (or Council)is“competentforsupervisingthe administrative and financial structures and activities of curial institutions and of- ficesandofinstitutionsassociatedwiththe Holy See”. It is an “overseeing body” which exercises its functions “in the light of the social doctrine of the Church, fol- lowingthebestpracticesrecognizedinter- nationally in the field of public administrationandstrivingforanadmin- istrativeandfinancialmanagementthatis both ethical and efficient” (Art. 205). Secretariat for the Economy . Created in 2014, the Segreteria per l’Economia (or Secretariat) is an important playerwhich functions as thePapal Secretariat for eco- nomic andfinancialmatters (Art. 212). It exercises control and oversight in ad- ministrative, economic, and financial matters over the Roman Curia (and all the institutions connected to the Holy See), the Peter’s Pence (worldwide col- lection that supports the charitablework of the Pope) and papal funds. Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See . Created in 2014, the Am- ministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica(orAPSA)“istheentityrespon- sible for the administration andmanage- ment of the real estateandmovableassets of theHolySeewhich shouldprovide the resources necessary for the Roman Curia properlytocarryoutitsworkforthegood of, and in service to, the particular Churches” (Art. 219). It provides anynec- essarysupporttotheordinaryactivitiesof theRomanCuria. Institute for the Works of Religion. The Istitutoper leOperediReligioneor IORis the only financial institution able to oper- ate within the Vatican City State. All the other potential financial operators within theVaticanmaybequalifiedas “auxiliary entities”. IORexecutes and carries out the financial transactions on behalf of APSA as provided by Article 219.3. This means that anyfinancial transactionswith aVat- icanbody, whendealingwith an external institutions,willbeoperatedbyAPSAand IOR. “It is a mistake to define IOR as a bank” for Domenico Musso. “Indeed, even if one of its functions is to act as a bank, its main purpose is to support the works of theCatholicChurch throughout theworld”.IORactsasabankforalimited numbers of players such as Catholic dio- ceses andmissions. Commission onDonations for theHoly See .TheCommissiodeDonationibuspro Sancta Sede (or the Commission) is in charge of promoting financial donations totheApostolicSee.TheCommissionwill havetoidentifybeforehand(onanannual basis) all its contemplated fundraising campaignsandprojects,andclearlydefine the required financial resources. Created in February 2025, the Commission is not yet active and it has several months to issue its implementing regulations. Other finance-related bodies and struc- tures. The Supervisory and Financial In- formation Authority (ASIF formerly knownasAIF)istheVaticanfinancialand supervisory authority (Art. 248). The Of- fice of theAuditor General is responsible for “auditing the consolidated financial statements of the Holy See” (Art. 222). And finally the Committee for Invest- mentsisresponsibleforguaranteeing“the ethical nature of theHoly See’s equity in- vestments in accordance with the Church’s social doctrine and, at the same time, monitoring their profitability, pro- priety anddegree of risk” (Art. 227). Practical issues and future challenges! State enforceability and immunity. One ofthemainissuesforfinancialentitydeal- ingwith theHoly See as a counterparty is the question of the enforceability and of immunity. The Holy See has not signed nor ratified the United Nations Conven- tiononJurisdictionalImmunitiesofStates and their Property dated 2 December 2004. This convention codifies the princi- ple of restrictive immunity following which a distinction is made between ac- tivities of a commercial nature, for which a State cannot invoke immunity from ju- risdiction, and activities performed in the exercise of its public functions, for which State immunity is upheld. Inprinciple,thenormsissuedbytheHoly See should have only customary value and a full immunity of the Holy See should be presumed. Theoretically, the Holy See may benefit from State immu- nity from being sued in another country or protected fromany legal actions. It ishoweververydifferent inpractice. In- deed, in spite of the specific nature of the HolySee, the immunitywill not apply to anyagreementortransactioniftheagree- ment is established in private capacity (act jure privatorum ), and it does not con- flict with any laws or regulations within the jurisdiction of the Holy See. A pre- emptive waiver of sovereignty can be granted as further comfort if requested. DomenicoMusso states that “it happens very rarely for the Holy See to claim im- munity especially because the Holy See tends to create segregated patrimony for each transactions”. In a recent case, where the Holy See has lost more than 100 million £ in a transac- tion related to the purchase of a former HarrodswarehouseinChelsea(WestLon- don), a cardinal and other senior Vatican officialsinvolvedinthecontentiousprop- ertydealwereconvictedin2023beforethe Vatican domestic court. One of the con- victedpartiessubsequentlyfiledacivilac- tion against theHoly See before theHigh Court in London after the deal went wrong. Pope Francis’ chief of staff even testifiedinLondonduringtheciviltrial.In thisinstance,theimmunityoftheHolySee was not invoked to the extent it was a commercial transaction realised by the Holy See in a private capacity. Anotherriskcouldbeforthecounterparty, due to the specific constitutional natureof theHolySee,ifapossibleauthoritativeact was issuedby thePopeor theSecretaryof State. Despite it is not completely exclud- able, this is however highly unlikely ac- cording toDomenicoMusso. Consistency & Trust . Bringing consis- tency between theory and practice is also akeyelementfortheHolySee’sfuture.In- spiredbytheGospel,PopeFrancishasex- pressed strong views on finance and the green economy inhigh level forums such astheUN,theIMFortheWorldBank.The Encyclical letter Laudato Si’ oncare for our commonhomeiscertainlyareferencetext thatinspirestheimprovementofglobalfi- nance. “But when it comes to turning in- ternational views into concrete rules and actions,theVaticanisnowhere”according to Bertrand de Mazières. During the EU Green Deal discussions, and the elabora- tionofthefamoustaxonomy,partiesfrom allovertheworldhavesubmittedpropos- als but not theHoly See. ItisimportanttostressthattheVaticanhas no natural resources and operating with externalpartiesisacrucialpointforitssur- vival. As a result, trust, credibility and soundmanagementofitsfinancesarekey elementsoftheHolySee’sfutureandsur- vival in the international arena as a State andasaChurch.Thenextdecadeswillde- termine if the Vatican financial laws and regulations are solid enough to prevent anyfinancialscandalswithintheHolySee. 1)ThisarticleisbasedonaneventorganisedbytheCon- férenceSaint-YvesandtheAssociationluxembourgeoise des diplômés en droit de L’UCLouvain on 28 January 2025withtheparticipationofBertranddeMazières(In- dependent Director at BNP Paribas) and Domenico Musso (Banking&Finance Lawyer - Bar of Rome). 2) 2010/C28/05, OJEUC149, 28.5.1999, p. 16. Vatican financial law in perspective degaucheàdroite:BertranddeMazières(IndependentDirectoratBNPParibas),DenisPhilippe(UCLouvain), DomenicoMusso (Bar of Rome),WilliamLindsay Simpson (Conférence Saint-Yves)