Today, by a large majority, the European Parliament adopted in plenary the final report and the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA). In the final report, MEPs accuse Member States of serious failures in combating money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. In the recommendations, MEPs […]
EU lobby register: Council entering negotiations is a chance for coherent lobby transparency
Today, the Council of Member States, in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), adopted its position for negotiations on the EU Transparency Register for lobbyists. The Commission had drafted a new Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) in September 2016. The Council now asked for amendments to this draft and proposed its own commitments in a separate draft […]
Reform of the Eurozone: Commission supports Macron instead of Merkel
Today, the Commission presented its so-called “St. Nicholas package” on the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union. The proposal includes the creation of a European Monetary Fund (EMF), integrated into the legal framework of the EU. The EMF shall emanate from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and help out Member States and banks facing […]
Tax Havens: EU Finance Ministers agree on whitewashed Blacklist
Today, the EU Finance Ministers approved two EU lists of jurisdictions that are non-cooperative in taxation matters. The first list (blacklist) names 17 countries which have not responded to information requests from the Council or which have not committed themselves to make their tax policy compliant with EU criteria. The second list (grey list) contains […]
Whistleblower Jonathan Ferris needs full police protection
After the visit of the delegation of the European Parliament Sven Giegold, co-initiator of the mission and participant of the Greens/EFA group declares: „Jonathan Ferris has made an important contribution to our fact finding mission. We were concerned to learn that he fears for the safety of himself and his family. The leader of our […]
Delegation to Malta on the rule of law
During the last two days a delegation of the European Parliament has visited Malta in a fact finding mission on the rule of law in Malta. The delegation followed the brutal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the implication of members of the government in the Panama Papers without any consequences or prosecutions. The European […]