European Foundation
„Stiftungsrecht in Europa“, a former Institute project led by Hopt, had the aim of completing a comparative law study of currently applicable foundation law in European Union member-states, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the USA and Eastern European nations in order to obtain perspectives on the reform and, as the case may be, the harmonisation of foundation law.Under the cooperative guidance of Hopt and Professor Walz (Bucerius Law School, Hamburg), the Institute’s subsequent “European Foundation” project comparatively examines civil law and tax law with regards to foundations in these same jurisdictions. Moving forward from country-based reports and comparative analyses, the goal of the study is to develop the model for a “European Foundation” based on the example of the European stock market and to study whether such a new legal form (with a corresponding harmonisation of tax law) can contribute to surmounting the barriers facing a cross-border foundation practice inside the EU. The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Institut für Stiftungsrecht und das Recht der Non Profit Organisationen on the Bucerius Law School, the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the European Foundation Center and is additionally receiving support from the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius as well as the Italian Compagnia de San Paolo.