August remained a relatively quiet month – especially in comparison to June and July. The developments of the previous months (and the season) only took a small toll on the current German economy. However, the outlook has deteriorated.
German economic situation in July 2016: The saga continues, but not so glossy after all
Amid Brexit, the Turkish Coup and now also terrorist attacks on its soil, the German economy overall remains strong in July 2016:
European Court (1st Instance) confirms illegality of § 8c 1a KStG (“Sanierungsklausel”)
In two judgments published on 4 February 2016, the European Court of First Instance upheld the EU-Commission’s previous assessment regarding the illegality of the so-called “restructuring clause” (“Sanierungsklausel“) of § 8c para 1a German Corporate Tax Code (“Körperschaftssteuergesetz“, “KStG“).
EU-Commission as an unlikely icebreaker for pre-insolvency restructurings?
On 30 September 2015, the EU-Commission issued an action plan for the “realization of a capital markets union”. Therein, the Commission announces the presentation of a “legislative initiative” for the last quarter of 2016 which shall include the EU-wide implementation of “early restructuring procedures”. This initiative might present an ice-breaker for the German debate over a “pre-insolvency restructuring procedure” which has been stalled since 2011 after the ESUG.