The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU has declined a further invitation to present its priorities to the special 'TAX 3' committee of the European Parliament on financial crimes, fraud and evasion, at a hearing scheduled for 25 June.
The reasons given are broadly the same as when it declined a first invitation in early May (see EUROPE 12019). In a letter dated 31 May - of which EUROPE has had sight - the Bulgarian finance minister, Vladislav Goranov, explains that he presented the Presidency's priorities to the committee on economic and monetary affairs (ECON) in January and that this committee is its main interlocutor in Parliament over matters in this area.
Given these refusals, the coordinators of the 'TAX 3' committee are expected to discuss the idea of referring the matter to the European Ombudsman, when they meet on Monday 11 June. Although the political will to do so certainly exists, there are reportedly a number of questions of a legal nature, such as the conditions for submitting a complaint or indeed its foundations.
It is also worth noting that the Bulgarian Presidency is not alone in declining to cooperate. On Monday 4 June, MEP Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, Germany) criticised Apple's refusal to address the special committee. “No company stands above democracy! We should now withdraw Apple's lobby badges to access to the Parliament”, he tweeted. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)