On Tuesday, 26 November, the European Parliament adopted—by a vote of 528 in favour, 78 against, and 61 abstentions—the draft report by Paul Tang (S&D, the Netherlands) on the proposal for a directive on the exemption from value added tax (VAT) and excise duties for supplies to armed forces participating in a European defence effort (see EUROPE 12241/16).
In their report, MEPs—who are only being consulted on this issue—support amending the VAT and Excise directives to provide that armed forces deployed outside their own Member State do not pay VAT or excise duties to other Member States when they are taking part in a defence effort under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The objective of the proposal is to harmonise the VAT system applicable to defence efforts within the framework of the EU and NATO (see EUROPE 12347/14).
The European Parliament text moreover clarifies that these exemptions should not cover civilian missions under the CSDP. The EU Council already adopted its position (see EUROPE 12360/1) at the Ecofin Council on 8 November. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)