Implementing Pillar Two in the EU - When Soft-Law Meets EU Secondary Law

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines legal tensions arising from the interaction between OECD/G20 IF Administrative Guidance and the Pillar Two Directive within the EU legal order. While the Pillar Two Directive remains locked into version of OECD/G20 IF Pillar Two rules as they stood in 2022, the OECD/G20 IF continues to develop its Pillar Two framework through subsequent Administrative Guidance. The thesis examines whether, and to what extent, Member States may rely on Administrative Guidance when interpreting and implementing the Pillar Two Directive, and whether this is permissible under EU law. The author has examined the legal nature of OECD and OECD/G20 IF outputs, the function of dynamic references engaged in the preamble of the Pillar Two Directive, Member State obligations arising under EU law, and the likely interpretative approach of the Court of Justice of European Union. The author concludes that reliance on Administrative Guidance may be permissible where it performs a supportive interpretative function consistent with the Pillar Two Directive. However, the doctrinal basis under EU law for reliance on evolving OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework Pillar Two materials remains uncertain.