Re:Zuckerberg didn’t make any friends in Europe today
by rusk on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @05:14AM
(#17132511)
Wrong. Ireland's competition rules are harmonised with EU rules. Not by dictat either, it's a condition of signing the various European treaties that you will implement particular laws that conform to certain principles. In this particular case Ireland had broken her own laws on competition. Like with so much of the skullduggery that goes on in Ireland, it took an outside agency to blow the whistle.
Re:Zuckerberg didn’t make any friends in Europe today
by rusk on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @05:25AM
(#17132579)
it's a condition of signing the various European treaties
These treaties by the way, are passed with popular consent. As a constitutional democracy Ireland requires a Referendum for any constitutional change, which is always necessary when signing up to anything that says we'll conform to some outside agency.
Re:Zuckerberg didn’t make any friends in Europe today
by mikejb on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @05:19AM
(#17132543)
I agree that it is not very clear - which is why I wrote "are often considered" etc.
Also the Apple example was brought up to explain a nations' interest in low tax rates, not about whether they're legal or not.
Parent was the one making definitive claims about fraud and illegal actions.
In your example on Apple this is not clear at all: there are two legal systems at play (the Irish one and the EU one). Apple is only playing by the rules of the Irish one. The problem comes from the EU saying that the Irish laws are not within the EU framework and thus not allowed.
Apple is very much doing not legal things from a perspective of EU law, hence the fine.