Dear interested, The German presidency of the Council of the European Union has been unwilling to bring public tax transparency for multinational companies to a vote, thus blocking the legislative process from going forward. Together with 20 Members of the European Parliament from the Greens/EFA group I have sent the following letter to the Portuguese […]
Success with great consequences: European Ombudswoman criticises award of contract to BlackRock as maladministration
In April 2020, BlackRock was awarded a contract from the Commission to study how the EU can best incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in its banking supervision. This decision was met with – to put it kindly – great disbelief, as massive conflicts of interest were ignored by the Commission. BlackRock is a […]
ESMA report on Wirecard reveals deficits at BaFin
Today, 3 November 2020, the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) presented its long-awaited report on the role of the German financial supervisor BaFin and the German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP) in the Wirecard accounting scandal. In Germany, BaFin and FREP are jointly responsible for the enforcement of financial reporting. ESMA publishes guidelines aimed at […]
European chemicals strategy: Commission presents strong blueprint for transition of the chemical industry
Today, Wednesday, the Commission presented its long-awaited Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Almost 20 years after the Commission last presented a comprehensive paper on chemicals policy, today’s publication is intended to pave the way towards a toxic-free environment. The chemicals strategy is the first concrete implementation of the “zero pollution” ambition of the European Green Deal. […]
Malta/Caruana Galizia: Assets of Keith Schembri and Brian Tonna frozen. Pressure shows effect
Dear friends, dear interested, Finally, something is moving in the fight against corruption in Malta. Yesterday it became known that the assets of Keith Schembri, the Head of Cabinet of ex-Prime Minister Muscat, companies in his possession and the assets of his accountants at Nexia BT (Brian Tonna and Karl Cini) were frozen. The reason […]
New subcommittee on tax in the European Parliament: Green priorities for European tax justice
Dear friends, Dear interested, The corona crisis is leaving massive holes in the public coffers of European countries. However, the economic recovery and green transformation won’t work with austerity programmes but require courageous investments in the future. In the coming months and years, this will bring the fight against tax evasion, tax avoidance and money […]