Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-339"
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"en.20021023.10.3-339"2
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"Mr President, the absence of an institutional agreement would lead to a delicate situation as the rapporteur has already acknowledged, given the urgency of adopting a new Fiscalis framework that is operational on 1 January 2003. It is a shame, however, that the Council’s agreement with the positions adopted by Parliament has been established only for a minimum period. It is significant, incidentally, that whilst acknowledging that the aim of the Fiscalis programme is not to harmonise tax legislation, the Commission has welcomed the fact that a statement to this effect has been included in the minutes. Even though it may be acceptable to classify the Fiscalis programme as a mere tool for strengthening administrative cooperation, the European Parliament will nevertheless have to concern itself with the political effects of implementing this type of programme.
Although it is true that tax evasion and fraud have a national dimension specific to each country, they also and increasingly have a supranational dimension rooted in the use of sophisticated techniques and schemes. At a particularly delicate time for the Union’s public finances, these factors cannot be ignored and much less can we fail to take advantage of the opportunities arising in order to change and improve the tax situation. It should be added that the EU is on the threshold of an historic round of enlargement, which means that, with the entry of new countries and different tax policies, new and hitherto unseen problems will also arise.
In fact, the new programme extends the scope of the programme to cover not only direct taxation, but also the candidate countries. Improving the functioning of tax systems in the internal market is, in itself, a praiseworthy objective, but combating tax fraud and evasion as well as launching bases with a minimum degree of harmonisation are also opportunities that should not be wasted. I therefore regret the fact that the Commission has invoked Article 95 of the Treaty with regard to this matter, and has not dared to invoke Article 93. With the reserves that have been created and bearing in mind the need for the new programme to get off the ground, I support the rapporteur’s recommendation."@en1
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