Mosquera Valderrama awarded a Jean Monnet Chair: 'Raise awareness of EU Standard of Tax Good Governance'
Last November, it was announced that the European Commission has awarded a Jean Monnet Chair to Professor of Tax Law Irma Mosquera Valderrama. She will use the grant to shape the EUTAXGOV project over the next three years.
The EUTAXGOV Chair will address the EU Standard of Tax Good Governance, Irma Mosquera Valderrama tells. ‘This Standard was introduced in 2008 by the ECOFIN Council with a view to tackling tax fraud and evasion by companies and individuals, and as a pre-condition for third (non-EU) countries that receive EU development aid and have concluded agreements with the EU.’
There are two main objectives to this Chair: (1) to enhance knowledge and understanding of the use of this Standard by students; and (2) to raise awareness and create a dialogue on the use of this Standard between academia, civil society, governments and policymakers at the EU level and domestic (country) level, including third (non-EU) countries. The Chair will mainly focus on teaching activities, but also on some outreach like workshops and seminars, and output activities.
‘This Chair contributes to the goals of the EU Erasmus+ call by engaging the participation of students, junior and more experienced lecturers and researchers, business, governments, and EU policymakers in EU processes. This Chair also contributes to one of the objectives of the Jean Monnet Action, namely fostering a dialogue between the academic world and society by creating awareness by students of the challenges the EU institutions (Parliament, Commission, the Platform of Tax Good Governance) face in promoting EU values and principles such as tax good governance.’
'I believe that the title and activities of this Chair will contribute to my research and teaching activities in the field of tax governance.'
According to Mosquera Valderrama, the EUTAXGOV Chair provides a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge among students, scholars, governments and organisations. ‘Knowledge on the application of EU standards in different fields of law – EU law, international law, trade law, tax law and investment law – as well as an opportunity to exchange views from different disciplines outside law such as international relations, political science and governance.’
The need to address this standard in this Chair is also the result of the findings of Mosquera Valderrama’s research project GLOBTAXGOV. This project investigates international tax law-making by the OECD, G20 and the EU in developed and developing countries. ‘I am the principal investigator of the GLOBTAXGOV project which has received an ERC Starting Grant. The network and the work carried out by the ERC GLOBTAXGOV Project will contribute to the success of the activities planned within the EUTAXGOV Jean Monnet Chair. As recently appointed Professor of Tax Law at Leiden Law School, I believe that the title and activities of this Chair will contribute to my research and teaching activities in the field of tax governance.’
Bachelor’s and master’s courses
The Jean Monnet Chair offers plenty of options, Mosquera Valderrama explains further. ‘In order to achieve the objectives of the EUTAXGOV Chair, this Chair will be used to teach courses at bachelor’s and master’s level, and online (MOOC) courses to students with different backgrounds (law, governance, international relations and development). Also, this Chair will publish two working papers and one edited book on the content of the Standard. In addition, it will set up a blog EUTAXGOV, organise several activities like workshops, seminars, public awareness meetings with students, lecturers and PhDs, and stakeholders involved in the implementation of this Standard.’
These activities will benefit from the already existing synergies developed by the Chair holder Mosquera Valderrama at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs and Leiden Law School, Leiden University, and other external (e.g. UNU-CRIS, EU Parliament, EU Commission (DEVCO and TAXUD, EU Platform of Tax Good Governance). This network will be useful for the seminars, workshops and meetings that will be organised as part of the EUTAXGOV Chair. In addition, one of the publications of the research project addressing the EU Standard of Tax Good Governance (Mosquera Valderrama, Intertax 2019) will be used as required reading material for the courses.