On Thursday 8 June, the S&D group of the European Parliament decided to challenge the chair of the Parliament's ALDE group over the proposed country-by-country reporting.
Readers may recall that on Thursday, the ALDE group tabled a new proposed compromise extending the safeguard clause whereby businesses may be authorised to derogate from the requirement to publish their accounting data (turnover, profit, etc.) on a country-by-country basis (see EUROPE 11804).
“Since your group previously expressed their support on the compromise suggested by our co-rapporteurs, we urge your group to reconsider their position and to adhere to the compromise negotiated amongst all groups”, write Germany's Udo Bullmann and Joseph Weidenholzer of Austria in a letter of which EUROPE has had sight. “This of course implies that the alternative compromise (of ALDE: Ed) would either need to be withdrawn or fall”, they continue.
The S&D's hope lies in its compromise being voted on first. The Greens/EFA and the S&D calculate that with two Liberal votes, they would only need four votes for their proposal to be adopted, which would topple the Liberal compromise. They hope that certain EPP members, such as Alain Lamassoure of France, who chairs the special committee on the LuxLeaks scandal, will stand alongside them. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)