The special 'TAX 3' committee of the European Parliament on financial crimes, tax fraud and tax evasion has received refusals from various representatives of the Council who had been invited to take part in the public hearing it has arranged for Tuesday 15 May on tackling harmful tax practices within the European Union and in third countries.
According to our information, the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council reportedly declined the invitation to its finance minister, Vladislav Goranov, due to a packed timetable and proposed to replace him with the minister to the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Lilyana Pavlova, or the vice-minister, Monika Panayotova, instead.
In declining these invitations, the Bulgarian Presidency refers in particular to the sensitivity of the Council on tax matters and the clear distribution of roles between co-legislators.
The 'TAX 3' committee is then reported to have proposed setting a new date for discussions with the Bulgarian Presidency on these matters over the next few weeks – a proposal that was also declined.
In a letter dated 8 May of which EUROPE has had sight, the current chair of the 'code of conduct' group at the Council also declined the invitation due to prior commitments on same date.
“With regard to the code of conduct, I would like to seize this opportunity to recall that it remains a political commitment among member states to coordinate their actions within their sphere of competence, without prejudice to the rights and obligations resulting from the Treaties”, Fabrizia Lapecorella explained in her letter. She adds that the Council already keeps the European Parliament informed on tax matters through the 'ECON' committee. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)