Freedom of Establishment in the EU as the Basis for LTD in Germany

One of the fundamental ideas of the European Union is the freedom of movement for its citizens. Thus, a German can live and work in France, Spain, or the UK under facilitated conditions just like an Italian, Portuguese, or Greek.

This freedom of movement extends not only to natural persons (i.e., individuals) but also to legal entities (e.g., corporations). This is how the European Court of Justice sees it, and since the confirming judgment on March 13, 2003, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) sees it the same way.

This means that a German GmbH can easily operate in any member state without losing its legal capacity. Naturally, corporations from other EU countries enjoy the same protection in Germany.

Thus, German entrepreneurs have the opportunity to operate in Germany with a properly established corporation from a neighboring EU country.