Brussels, 28/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The negotiator of the GUE/NGL group on the report of the special TAXE committee of the European Parliament, Germany's Fabio De Masi, would like the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to provide him with clarifications following allegations that the latter lied in his hearing before the said committee regarding the 'Krecké' report.
Addressing the TAXE committee on 17 September, Juncker said that he was not aware of a confidential page on tax rulings appended to the 'Krecké' report on the tax fraud, which was drawn up in 1997 (see EUROPE 11391). This page was removed from the public version of the report. Over the weekend, the German newspaper Spiegel Online published statements by Jeannot Krecké, economy minister of the Juncker government in 2004. “I can confirm that in April 1997, I sent Mr Juncker an official version and a private version of my report”, Krecké said.
“Mr Juncker can no longer abdicate his responsibilities in this matter. Mr Krecké has confirmed publicly, but also in writing to myself, that he sent Mr Juncker a full version of this report, including the page which was not made public, in 1997”, Fabio De Masi said in a press release (our translation). “This means that Mr Juncker did not answer the questions of the Parliament truthfully, which is unacceptable. I wrote to him last week asking him to clarify these contradictions in his statements and to make the full report available to the TAXE committee. I have still not had a reply”, the MEP explained.
De Masi is therefore calling for the TAXE committee to invite Juncker to attend again, along with Krecké. He has also asked the two groups which make up the 'grand coalition' of the EP - the EPP, of which Juncker is a member, and the S&D - to withdraw their objections to a committee of investigation into corporate tax evasion.
“Everything Mr Juncker had to say about these matters, he said it in full clarity and transparency at the hearing of the TAXE committee on 17 September”, was all that Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas would say in response to the Spiegel Online article, on Monday 28 September. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)