On Thursday 11 June, the Conference of Presidents (CoP) of the European Parliament approved the creation of a subcommittee on taxation as a permanent successor to the PAN and TAXE special temporary committees, created in the wake of various major tax fraud scandals of recent years.
The political group coordinators for the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) had already given the go-ahead for the creation of this subcommittee in September 2019 (see EUROPE 12329/11), but its approval was conditional on reaching an agreement over the special committees, with the process being further delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the draft decision, this subcommittee of the ECON Commission will therefore be responsible for “tax related matters and notably the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance as well as financial transparency for taxation purposes”.
Money laundering has been ultimately excluded from its remit, due to objections from the Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), who also hold responsibility for this area. Nevertheless, according to one parliamentary source, the wording will be flexible enough to allow the subcommittee to investigate a money laundering scandal.
This counts as a real victory for the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups, who have actively supported its creation. “This sub-committee can make a crucial contribution in supporting the recovery plans in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis” and “can ensure that the recovery is fair for all citizens”, said S&D group chair, Iratxe García, who welcomed its creation.
According to our information, the subcommittee will be composed of 30 members, distribution of which should be as follows: eight members from the EPP Group, six from the S&D Group, four from the RE Group, three from the ID Group, three from the Greens/EFA Group, three from the ECR Group, two from the GUE/NGL Group and one non-attached member.
An informal agreement has already been reached between the political groups that the presidency shall be returned to the S&D group (see EUROPE 12419/5). MEP Paul Tang (S&D, Netherlands) has publicly confirmed his wish to chair it (see EUROPE 12429/31).
The establishment of the subcommittee still needs to be confirmed at the June plenary session and its composition is expected to be confirmed, probably in July. The subcommittee should therefore be ready to start its work in September. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)