‘Lux Leaks’ inquiry decision delayed

Group leaders in the European Parliament will decide in early February on an investigation into Luxembourg’s tax policies.

Senior figures in the European Parliament have postponed a decision on whether to open an inquiry into tax avoidance in Luxembourg.

The leaders of the political groups and the Parliament’s president – collectively known as the conference of presidents – will continue their discussions on the matter on 5 February.

The Green group in the Parliament called for a committee of inquiry to be set up following the ‘Lux Leaks’ scandal of last November, when it was revealed that Luxembourg had given large companies favourable tax breaks, while Jean-Claude Juncker was prime minister and finance minister.

At a press conference in Strasbourg yesterday (14 January), Green MEPs Sven Giegold and Philippe Lamberts said that they had reached the required number of signatures – 25% of MEPs – to force the conference of presidents to discuss the setting up of an inquiry.

By yesterday at 4pm they had collected 194 signatures, with full support from the Greens and the far-left GUE/NGL groups. Some members of the other political groups also signed the petition. According to a Greens spokesperson, the group is not “actively looking for more support”.

The decision to delay was taken by Martin Schulz, the president of the Parliament, so that a legal examination could be carried out. According to EU law, the Parliament must check the signatures and the legal basis for the petition as well as the compatibility with EU treaties.

If it passes those tests, the conference of presidents will discuss the matter on 5 February. If approved, the entire Parliament would need to vote on the proposal in plenary, which could take place in February (9-12) or March (9-12).

Giegold, who said the Greens did not ask for support from the French Front National or the United Kingdom Independence Party, spoke about a “turning point” for the Parliament. He added that for the first time in 30 years “the European Parliament will play a role in a tax matter”.

The groups stressed that the inquiry was not a personal attack on Juncker. “The proposal is an answer to decades of non-involvement of the EU in this matter,” Giegold said.

A quarter of the 68 liberal MEPs supported the proposal, although group leader Guy Verhofstadt said he was in favour of an inquiry committee on one condition: “We should also continue our work on the report with legislative proposals in order to find a European solution against tax evasion and tax fraud.”

Gianni Pittella, leader of the socialist MEPs, said that “a legislative report, issued by the economic affairs committee, will be the best way to force the Commission to act in order to tackle the unfair tax competition between member states.” Of the 191 socialist MEPs, 31 have so far signed the proposal.