Special committee TAX2: still no real transparency

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The coordinators of the TAX2 committee discussed on Monday evening the conditions for access to documents with the European Commission as well as the committee's work plan. GUE/NGL coordinator Fabio De Masi, jointly with Greens/EFA coordinator Sven Giegold, had written to the TAX2 chair ahead of the meeting (see letter and detailed annex[1]) outlining the significant remaining discrepancies between the Commission's promises and what the committee has had access to in reality.

Fabio De Masi comments on the outcome of the meeting: "Our investigations of tax dumping in the EU are still being blocked. We have set out in detail where and how the Commission has once again and once again not delivered on its promise – reiterated recently by Commission President Juncker in his letter to MEPs – to provide full and unhindered document access. Not to speak of the Council which brushed off the Parliament so bluntly last summer that TAXE dropped all communication for fear of empty non-replies. Even the snail-like progress with the Commission leaves numerous open gaps, as our analysis demonstrates. In addition, crucial documents remain behind closed doors in a secret room under worse conditions than during the TTIP document consultation. Previously written documents remain blackened till now."

De Masi continues: "There is no serious political will to dig into the EU tax haven cartel. The EP's big political groups are protecting the key figures. Neither Commission President Juncker nor Dutch finance minister and current ECOFIN-President Dijsselbloem will be invited to TAX2. And this despite the TAXE 1 report stressing contradictions in Juncker's hearing last September and the condemnable role played by the Netherlands at the helm of the Council in blocking real progress against aggressive tax planning."

Die deutschsprachige Pressemitteilung finden Sie hier[2].

Links:

1. https://www.fabio-de-masi.de/kontext/controllers/document.php/161.6/6/35be38.pdf
2. https://www.fabio-de-masi.de/de/article/758.ep-sonderausschuss-tax2-kommission-schwärzt-weiter-dokumente.html