42-757: The Prussian Concordat was a concordat signed between the Free State of Prussia and the Holy See on 14 July 1929 to normalize relations between Prussia and the Roman Catholic Church following the fall of the Prussian monarchy in 1918. This German history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a treaty is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Concordat A concordat ( French pronunciation: [kɔ̃kɔʁda] )
84-681: A European Commissioner for Competition one of her first tasks in 2004 was to oversee the sanctions against Microsoft by the European Commission, known as the European Union Microsoft competition case . This case resulted in the requirement to release documents to aid commercial interoperability and included a €497 million fine for Microsoft. Kroes attended conferences organized by the Bilderberg Group every year between 2005 and 2012. In 2009, she
126-578: A church–state perspective, the contentions regarding concordats involves two perspectives. From a Catholic perspective, the Church has the moral and theological right to enter into diplomatic relations with states in order to reach agreements regarding the care of its members residing there. This is the concept of Libertas ecclesiae (freedom of the Church). From a non-Catholic perspective, concordats may pose certain concerns such as: Due to these concerns,
168-574: A member of the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce, furthermore she served as a board member for Ballast Nedam (shipping), ABP-PGGM Capital Holdings N.V. (a joint subsidiary of the pension funds ABP and PGGM ), NIB (an investment bank), McDonald's Netherlands, Nedlloyd , and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the Dutch railroad company). In 1991, Kroes became chairperson of Nyenrode University , a private business school. During this period Kroes also
210-751: A time after the Second Vatican Council , which ended in 1965, the term 'concordat' was dropped, it reappeared with the Polish Concordat of 1993 and the Portuguese Concordat of 2004 . A different mode of relations between the Vatican and various states is still evolving, often contentiously, in the wake of a growing secularism and religious pluralism in the western world. The Catholic Church historically claimed not to be bound to one form of government over another, but
252-403: A variety of paid and unpaid positions. At the end of the 1980s, intensive research into environmental crime among chemical waste processing companies ended in a fiasco. As Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Kroes had conceived the plan to provide subsidies to the companies TCA and TCR (Tanker Cleaning Amsterdam and Rotterdam, respectively). Even though she was made aware of
294-552: A work by Nicholas de Cusa , entitled De Concordantia Catholica ". The first concordat dates from 1098, and from then to the beginning of the First World War the Holy See signed 74 concordats. Due to the substantial remapping of Europe that took place after the war, new concordats with legal successor states were necessary. The post-World War I era saw the greatest proliferation of concordats in history. Although for
336-566: Is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both, i.e. the recognition and privileges of the Catholic Church in a particular country and with secular matters that affect church interests. According to P. W. Brown the use of the term "concordat" does not appear "until the pontificate of Pope Martin V (1413–1431) in
378-530: Is a proponent of Free and Open Source Software . Since 2010, she has served as a Commissioner for the Broadband Commission for Digital Development which leverages broadband technologies as a key enabler for social and economic development. In 2010, it was suggested that she would become prime-minister in the Netherlands, when Mark Rutte would stay in parliament due to difficulties in
420-513: Is also the case in Côte d'Ivoire , where far larger sums are involved. The Basilica at Yamoussoukro , is estimated to have cost $ 300 million, and the additional running expenses for what is the largest church in the world are also shielded from scrutiny by the 1992 concordat concluded with the Ivorian president. Houphouët-Boigny claimed that these funds came from his private fortune. A Vatican official
462-478: Is reported to have called the agreement over the foundation set up to administer these funds "a delicate matter". Nevertheless, this concordat ensures that the foundation's income and assets remain untaxed (art. 9.1), it holds these funds beyond the reach of both criminal and civil law (art. 7.1), it permits this money to be sent out of the country (art. 13.2) and it keeps all the foundation's documents "inviolable", in other words, secret (art. 8). In Colombia there
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#1732790136404504-626: The First Barroso Commission , and was given the heavy portfolio of Competition taking office on 22 November 2004. In November 2009, Kroes was re-nominated for a second term in the Second Barroso Commission , and was given the heavy portfolio of Digital Agenda and was appointed as one of the Vice-Presidents serving from 9 February 2010 until 1 November 2014. Kroes retired from active politics at
546-759: The Internet Governance Forum in Baku , Azerbaijan had been the victims of computer hacking . Kroes is currently leading StartupDelta , a public-private initiative to help promote the Netherlands as a destination for startup companies . For the 2019 European elections , she was brought into the European election campaign by Guy Verhofstadt 's Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) in Belgium . In addition, Kroes has been holding
588-618: The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014. Kroes studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree. Kroes worked as a researcher at her alma mater from September 1963 to April 1968, and as a corporate director for a transport company in Delft from April 1968 until August 1971, and for
630-612: The United States did not establish diplomatic ties to the Vatican until the Ronald Reagan administration in 1984; and, to this day, the United States does not have a concordat with the Vatican, despite the two having a mutual "compromise" in terms of relationship. "Although the United States will probably not go so far as some nations have by concluding a concordat with the Vatican, it will, in effect, further
672-560: The chamber of commerce of Rotterdam from July 1969 until August 1971. Kroes became a Member of the House of Representatives shortly after the election of 1971 on 3 August 1971, and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Transport and Education . After the election of 1977 Kroes was appointed as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel taking office on 28 December 1977. After
714-588: The election of 1981 Kroes returned to the House of Representatives on 25 August 1981, and again served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Transport. After the election of 1982 Kroes was appointed as Minister of Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Lubbers I taking office on 4 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Kroes continued her office in the Cabinet Lubbers II . In June 1989, Kroes announced that she wouldn't stand for
756-507: The election of 1989 . Kroes semi-retired from active politics and became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and served as Rector Magnificus of the Nyenrode Business University from June 1991 until January 2000. In October 2004, Kroes was nominated as the next European Commissioner in
798-506: The Bahamas company. Further, EU commissioners are not allowed to hold outside directorships while in office (Kroes was in office 2004–2014). According to her lawyer, Kroes acknowledged the situation, calling it an "oversight", and declared that she would take full responsibility. The “Uber files”, leaked documents in 2022, revealing active and irregular efforts of Uber in lobbying regulators, revealed that Kroes prepared her appointment at
840-524: The Catholic Church the tax-exempt status of a charity, being by fact the largest charitable institution in the world, either stating this explicitly, as in Brazil (2008, Article 15) and Italy (1984, Article 7.3), or phrasing it indirectly, as in Portugal (2004, art. 12). When the political will is present, such concordat privileges can be extended by domestic legislation. In 1992, the tax exemption granted
882-620: The Church by the Italian concordat was interpreted by a law which permits the Catholic Church to avoid paying 90% of what it owes to the state for its commercial activities. Thus, a small shrine within the walls of a cinema, holiday resort, shop, restaurant or hotel is sufficient to confer religious exemption. In June 2007 Neelie Kroes , the European Commissioner for Competition announced an investigation of this. Then, in August,
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#1732790136404924-689: The Harbour Pilotage services, as well as the commissioning of the Betuwe Railway. Kroes refused to become Minister of Defence in 1988. During her tenure as minister, she was involved in the so-called TCR affair, about the illegal sale of warships. She had also a business relationship with a tank cleaning company (TCR), which illegally received governmental subsidies. After her ministerial career, Kroes spent two years working on two projects as an advisor to Karel van Miert , at that time European Commissioner for Transport. She also became
966-665: The House of Representatives, while her party, VVD, was in the opposition. In 1982 she returned to office in the First and Second Lubbers Cabinets , now as the Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management , a post that she held until 1989. As a minister she was responsible for the privatisation of the Postgiro (Postbank, initially a part of the PTT), the Post and Telephone Services,
1008-518: The University Council. After obtaining a Bachelor of Economics and later a Master of Economics degree in 1965, she became a research fellow at the economic faculty at that university. During this period Kroes was involved in the women's organisation within the VVD. In this period she also was member of the board of heavy transporting company "ZwaTra", the company of her father. Neelie Kroes
1050-615: The age of 73 and again became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served as an occasional diplomat for several economic delegations on behalf of the government. Following her retirement Kroes continued to be active as an advocate and lobbyist for promoting startup companies and entrepreneurship . She holds the distinction as the first female Minister of Transport starting an informal tradition of women serving as Dutch Transport Ministers that has continued since 1982 (save for two exceptions 2002–2003 and 2007–2010 ) for over 42 year. Neelie Kroes
1092-716: The astrologers advising Kroes during that time was Lenie Drent, who had been providing business advice to Paarlberg for decades. Kroes has held and still holds many side offices, mainly in cultural and social organisations. She is chairperson of Poets of all Nations , the Delta Psychiatric Hospital and of the board of the Rembrandt House Museum . Also, she was a member of several boards of commissioners, for instance at Nedlloyd (a shipping company) and Lucent Technologies (an information and communication technologies company). In 2004, Kroes
1134-468: The civil authorities on what many in Colombia considered to be a serious felony. There have been at least several hundred concordats over the centuries. The following is a sortable list of the concordats and other bilateral agreements concluded by the Holy See. Neelie Kroes Neelie Kroes ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈneːli ˈkrus] ; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of
1176-686: The company Mint Holdings some years later, which was planning to take over part of Enron. In 2016, leaks to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (who also oversaw the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers leaks) revealed that from 2001 to 2009 Kroes was the director of Mint Holdings, a company registered in the Bahamas . As part of the EU rules, a commissioner is obliged to declare previous and current economic interests, but she did not declare her directorship of
1218-402: The company's criminal activities, including mixing chemical waste into fuel oil, she pushed through with the subsidies. The resulting TCR affair sparked a parliamentary inquiry in 1997. Kroes was accused by the investigative committee that she had helped a rogue company with a government subsidy into the saddle, which made the environmental crimes possible. In the mid-1990s, Kroes was involved in
1260-615: The deputy finance minister in Romano Prodi 's fragile center-left coalition said the issue needed to be tackled in the next year's budget. However, after that nothing more about this was heard from the Barroso Commission and a few months later the Prodi government fell. The Slovak concordat (2000, art. 20.2) ensures that church offertories are "not subject to taxation or to the requirement of public accountability". This
1302-491: The formations in the new Cabinet. However, eventually Rutte became prime-minister . In December 2011, Kroes invited Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg who had resigned as German Minister of Defence in March 2011, due to plagiarism charges – as advisor to the European Commission as part of its No Disconnect Strategy designed to promote Internet freedom . In November 2012, Kroes made international news when she said her advisers at
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1344-585: The frigate affair: the failed purchase of six Dutch frigates (amounting to 1.2 billion euros) by the United Arab Emirates . As chairman of a consortium of Holland Signaal, Ballast Nedam and Koninklijke Schelde (supported by the navy, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs), Kroes attempted to exchange the frigates for oil supplies. When it turned out that she
1386-542: The religious purposes of the Vatican. Otherwise, the Vatican would have no interest in establishing diplomatic relations with the United States. Perhaps it is accurate to characterize the exchange of embassies as a compromise - meaning, the United States is willing to further the religious purposes of the Vatican, if the Vatican is willing to further the foreign policy objectives of the United States." Samuel W. Bettwy, "United States - Vatican Recognition: Background and Issues" (1984), p. 257-258 Some concordats guarantee
1428-556: The taxi company when she was still in office. She did not disclose the numerous appointments she had with firms executives when European Commissioner for competition and then new technologies (a position she held until November 2014). After resigning from the European Commission, she actively helped Uber bending regulations by opening her contacts to the company, including Netherlands then Prime Minister Mark Rutte, breaking her 18-months duty of réserve that ex commissioner must apply. She finally joins Uber Public Affairs team in 2016. Kroes
1470-454: Was a crisis between state and church in 1994 when Attorney-General Gustavo de Greiff accused several bishops of having illegal contacts with the FARC guerrillas. It turned out that under Colombia's concordat with the Holy See, members of the clergy could only be investigated by ecclesiastical courts which are ruled by canon law , and that the bishops were therefore immune from investigation by
1512-547: Was a member of the Advisory Board of the Prof.Mr. B.M. Teldersstichting, the scientific bureau of VVD. According to her husband, Bram Peper, from 1993 to 2001, Kroes relied on astrologers and clairvoyants for personal and business advice. Until 2004 Kroes maintained an office in the castle of Jan-Dirk Paarlberg, a real estate mogul who was convicted to four and a half years in prison for money-laundering and extortion. One of
1554-684: Was also using her chairmanship to serve the business interests of a personal friend, the businessman Joop van Caldenborgh, she was removed from her position by the government. It was only in 2011 that it became known that she had also put Prince Bernhard forward as a lobbyist in this deal, in violation of the agreements that Bernhard had made with the Den Uyl cabinet after the Lockheed affair . The frigate affair brought Kroes into contact with Jordanian investor Amin Badr-El-Din, with whom she would run
1596-558: Was appointed the European Commissioner for Competition . At the time, her nomination was heavily criticised because of her ties to big business and alleged involvement in shady arms deals. Kroes has tried to uphold her integrity; whenever she has to deal with issues concerning competition in branches of industry in which she used to be active as a board member, Commissioner McCreevy takes over her responsibilities. As chairperson of Nyenrode Business University , Kroes awarded an honorary doctorate to Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1996. As
1638-584: Was born on 19 July 1941 in Rotterdam , Netherlands . Her father owned the transport company Zwatra. Kroes attended a Protestant grammar school in Rotterdam . She continued to a Protestant high school. In 1958, she went to study economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. In 1961, Kroes was praeses of the R.V.S.V. (the largest Rotterdam sorority ). She was also elected as a member of
1680-607: Was first elected member of the Rotterdam city council for the VVD in 1970. In 1971, she was elected to the House of Representatives , forcing her to stop her fellowship. In parliament, she became spokesperson for education. She remained a member of parliament until 1977, when she became State Secretary for Transport, Public Works and Water Management in the First Van Agt Cabinet , responsible for Postal and Telephone Services and Transport. In 1981, she briefly returned to
1722-558: Was transferred to another European Commissioner post, namely ICT and Telecom. She was also appointed as one of the vice-presidents of the European Commission. In 2010, she became European Commissioner for Digital Agenda in the second Barroso Commission . The Digital Agenda for Europe was proposed by the European Commission on 19 May 2010. The Digital Agenda for Europe is supported by the EU Digital Competitiveness Report launched also on 19 May 2010. She
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1764-529: Was willing to work with any kind of government, so long as the rights of God and believers were maintained. Pius XI wrote in 1933: Universally known is the fact that the Catholic Church is never bound to one form of government more than to another, provided the Divine rights of God and of Christian consciences are safe. She does not find any difficulty in adapting herself to various civil institutions, be they monarchic or republican, aristocratic or democratic. From
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