On Wednesday 27 March, the European Parliament as a whole adopted its position at first reading on the proposal for country by country reporting (CBCR) regarding tax transparency, which would require companies to make public certain accounting data such as their turnover, profits and taxes paid (see EUROPE 11530/1).
The vote does not, of course, have the power to change the lines in the Council of the EU, but it at least formally confirms the European Parliament's position as set out in the joint report by Evelyn Regner (S&D, Austria) and Hugues Bayet (S&D, Belgium) in July 2017 (see EUROPE 11822/1).
MEPs have largely lost patience and repeatedly denounced the Council of the EU's inaction on this issue (see EUROPE 12005/9). In a statement on Wednesday, Germany's Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA) criticised his country's attitude, which continues to block the proposal while countries such as France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are in favour.
The last meeting of national experts of the Council of the EU was held at the end of January (see EUROPE 12179/21) and did not result in significant progress. The Legal Service of the Council of the EU had been asked to check whether its opinion on the legal basis, dated November 2016 (see EUROPE 11667/23), was still valid in view of the changes in the text currently on the table (see EUROPE 12175/4).
As a reminder, the Council of the EU's lawyers had concluded that the legal basis chosen by the Commission, which opens the way to co-decision, was not adequate and indicated that it was necessary to revert to a proposal based on Article 115 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which stipulates unanimity in the Council of the EU. The question still divides the Member States (see EUROPE 11758/9). However, in order to agree on a change of legal basis, unanimity is required.
Since January, nothing has changed, a European source told us. The Legal Service does not intend to reconsider its opinion. The case therefore remains at an impasse. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)