Landmark banking supervision rules approved; final go-ahead pending agreement on EP scrutiny An agreement on new EU legislation creating a European banking supervision mechanism was given provisional approval by the European Parliament today but a final vote on the legislation was postponed until more clarity on the EP’s scrutiny role is provided. Green finance spokesperson […]
Tax evasion:
Shameless obstructionism on banking transparency must be overcome
EU finance ministers today failed to agree on ending loopholes in the EU savings directive, under which Luxembourg and Austria are exempted from provisions on automatic information exchange, due to continued opposition from those two countries. The Greens hit out at the continued obstruction by Luxembourg and Austria to this key measure aimed at ensuring […]
Germany’s excessive current account surplus: the Commission must act now
A recent publication by the Bundesbank on current account statistics has revised the German current account surplus considerably upwards. Germany’s exports were much larger than it was assumed one year ago. The reform of the stability and growth pact (the so-called “six pack”) introduced a proceeding against macroeconomic imbalances. This procedure includes an early warning […]
Financial Times: Giegold promises to polish Ucits label & ‘I did not backpedal’
Giegold promises to polish Ucits label By Ruth Sullivan Green MEP Sven Giegold is intent on improving the image of the Ucits brand, which he suggests has become tarnished in some parts of the world. “In Asia, regulators say they do not trust Ucits as a retail brand any more. That is very bad,” he […]
Briefing: FATCA and Data Protection
FATCA is the most effective tool in the fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance. For a long time, civil society (development organisations, Tax Justice Network, Attac…) and the Greens have been fighting for reciprocal automatic exchange of information in tax matters. It is sad to admit: All efforts of the EU have not got […]
The breakthrough: EU finance ministers stand together against tax havens and for automatic exchange of information
It is music to my ears. The finance ministers of the six largest EU countries Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and Spain held a memorable press conference in Dublin on Friday night. Their requests have been put forward by Attac and the Tax Justice Network since their establishment more than 10 years ago: Closure […]