Brussels, 28/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - During a debate at the European Parliament on Tuesday 28 May 2013, MEPs took note of the European Summit's commitments in the fiscal domain, but said they would judge them by their acts when it comes to expanding automatic exchange of bank account information.
On behalf of the EPP, Portugal's Paolo Rangel said that the International Monetary Fund says that €14 trillion are stashed away in tax havens, mostly in Europe and European nations' protectorates. He asked about the fact that some of these tax havens get EU aid for development and access to the EU market, saying this amounted to undressing Peter to clothe Paul. He said that the automatic exchange of bank information was urgently needed in the EU, along with tax harmonisation in Europe to help struggling countries. This view was staunchly opposed by Martin Callanan (ECR, United Kingdom).
The head of the S&D Group, Austria's Hannes Swoboda, welcomed the statement by the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, that negotiations would be begun with countries in Europe, like Switzerland, on the updated EU savings tax directive, saying he was sure the message had been understood in Austria. On behalf of the Greens, Germany's Rebecca Harms said European multinationals must be forced to come clean about the amount of tax they pay in the countries where they do business.
Van Rompuy promised to regularly assess progress in achieving the summit's commitments. (MB/transl.fl)