Tallinn to be Capital of European Law in 2012

A conference of the International Federation for European Law (FIDE) will take place in Estonia in 2012, and in connection with this Tallinn will serve as the capital of European law for that year.

Julia Laffranque, president of FIDE Estonia, said that Estonia will be the first country from Eastern Europe to host the conference. The event, held every two years, brings together more than 500 lawyers from all over the world.

The conference that presumably will take place in Tallinn at the end of May or in early June 2012 is expected to focus on three topics:

• the protection of human rights in Europe;
• relations between energy, environment and competition policy in the EU; and
• legal aspects of the information society in Europe based on freedom, security and law.

A year earlier, at the end of May 2011, a high-level delegation made up of national FIDE presidents will come to Estonia to look at preparations for the conference.

Laffranque added that the idea to choose capitals of European law in addition to European capitals of culture and green capitals emerged in the course of preparations for the conference. Tallinn will be the first city to bear this title.

Source: estonia.eu

Cash declaration as of May

As of 1 May an amount of cash of a value exceeding EUR 10 000 carried by any person entering or leaving the European Union shall be also declared when for transportation of cash the transport services are used. Up to that time the obligation to declare was imposed only on natural persons crossing the border.

Any natural person entering or leaving the Community and carrying cash of a value of EUR 10 000 or more is still obligated to lodge a cash declaration.   This obligation is established by the Regulation (EC) No1889/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council on controls of cash entering or leaving the Community as of 15 June 2007.

As of 1 May 2010, upon entry into force of section 48¹ of the Taxation Act and the Regulation No 24 of the Minister of Finance of 31 March 2010 “Procedure of cash declaration, cash declaration form and instruction for completing thereof” (RTL 2010, 18, 320) lay down an obligation to declare cash also in cases when for transportation of cash the transport services are used.   In such case consignees of cash shall lodge the cash declaration on import and consignors shall lodge the cash declaration on export.

Consequently, both natural persons and legal persons entering or leaving the Community with an amount of cash of a value EUR 10 000 or more are obligated to declare cash.

Cash subject to declaration means:

• banknotes and coins circulating as instruments of payment;
• cheques, including traveller’s cheques;
• promissory notes;
• money orders;
• shares.

Declaration forms are available on the website of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. For completing a forms it should be printed and filled in, or to be completed right on the screen and subsequently printed.   The forms may also be obtained from the customs officials at performing the customs formalities.

Source: Estonian Tax and Customs Board