20/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Dutch Socialist Ieke van den Burg, rapporteur for the European Parliament on this issue, welcomed the proposals made by the European Commission, on an initiative by Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, on the subject of transferability of pensions (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.9), while regretting that they only take the form of a communication and not a directive. The European Commission raised important issues, such as that of double taxation, but the approach "lacks ambition", says the MEP, who believes that more should be done to achieve a "uniform system of tax deductions and exemptions in order to avoid double taxation as well as zero taxation". It admits, however, that the European Commission's proposals may be considered as a "welcome and necessary supplement to Parliament's initiatives in this field".