GlobeSt.com: How is your membership broken down?

van Ommen: We represent the listed real estate companies in Europe as well as the investors--the pension funds and institutional investors, the investment banks and fund managers. We have 160 organizations in our membership, 90% of which come from Europe. The other 10%, increasingly, comes from the US and from Asia.

GlobeSt.com: In 2004, Sam Zell said the European structure was flawed due to the lack of self-administration. Is it?

van Ommen: We define a REIT as a tax-transparent structure, which means the entity doesn't pay corporation tax, but it has the obligation to distribute 80% to 90% of the fiscal income to shareholders. Where do we have those structures in place? At the time Sam made those comments, there were only in Holland and Belgium. Today, we have tax-transparent structures in place in Holland, Belgium and France and they have been a very effective vehicle.

GlobeSt.com: How will the landscape change if the UK introduces the concept?

van Ommen: The next step is one in which we have been instrumental, and that is getting it done in Germany. I expect that, once it is in place there and in the UK, the Scandinavian countries and Switzerland, Spain and Austria will follow, and Italy will improve its vehicle. But the structure will still be different from country to country. The only thing they will have in common is tax-transparency.

GlobeSt.com: In many respects, Europe lags behind the rest of the world. Why?

van Ommen: Keep in mind that EPRA has existed only since 1999. But we're such a fragmented continent; the UK, France, Germany all have different cultures and languages. Establishing REITs in Europe has been a real uphill fight. REITs have been in the US since the 1960s and really successful since the '90s. On the other side of the globe, Australia is one of the most effective tax-transparent countries in the world, and REITs have been introduced in Japan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong as well as in less developed countries like Thailand and India. Comparatively, it has taken a very long time to get our act together.

GlobeSt.com: How are you involved in the propagation of REITs throughout the continent?

van Ommen: We're working on two fronts. Number one is to get the structure introduced in all those different countries. The second is to introduce a unified structure, just as there is in the US. But that is a long-term goal.

GlobeSt.com: Using 2006 as a base, how long do you think it will be before that unified structure is in place?

van Ommen: That's at least 10 years down the road.

GlobeSt.com: To what extent do you interact with NAREIT on such issues?

van Ommen: We've always had a friendly relationship with [NAREIT president and CEO] Steve Wechsler and NAREIT. That was exemplified by our joint creation of the EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index, which is seen today as the benchmark for listed real estate throughout the world. You should know that the structure of the two organizations is spreading globally. In 2003, I gave a presentation in Brisbane about the feasibility of an Asian Public Real Estate Association, following the model of EPRA. Considering how far Asia has come, it was a missing link. Steve and I have been very helpful in getting their act together and I think there is a good possibility that the Asia Public Real Estate Association will be introduced shortly.