Die Europäische Finanztransaktionssteuer und die Vereinbarkeit mit der Kapitalmarktunion

Discourse within politics and business has repeatedly highlighted the incompatibility of two European Union (EU) projects, namely the European Financial Transaction Tax (EU FTT) and the Capital Markets Union (CMU). This thesis appraises these EU projects and related literature, identifies a deficiency in verified and academically reviewed discourse, and implements a novel methodological approach to address this research gap at the economic, regulatory, and legal levels for the first time.

Measures of the EU FTT and the CMU were selected and analysed against existing literature. Where insufficient literature existed, alternative measures and related literature were analysed as proxies, with results interpolated and discussed in the context of the EU FTT and the CMU projects. Specifically, measures were analysed against economic and regulatory objectives, and legal aspects. Interviews with experts from within research and practice were conducted to discuss and subsequently address any inconsistencies or gaps in the contents and findings of this study, ensuring sufficient scope and accuracy of results.

This thesis argues that the compatibility of the EU FTT and the CMU varies across the three considered levels. When the projects are analysed in an economic context, contradictions and inconsistencies in measures are revealed, and arguments can be made against their compatibility. However, at a regulatory level, the objectives and measures are more consistently related, and compatibility is better supported. In a legal context, EU FTT measures exist where a revision at the EU primary law level is recommended. However, reasons for an incompatibility on the EU secondary law level, which result from the legal interplay of EU FTT’s and CMU’s measures, were not found, and the two EU projects can be considered de facto compatible with one another.