EU inquiry into tax evasion

The European Parliament’s Green Party has cleared the first legal hurdle for the creation of a committee to look into tax evasion in the wake of revelations about hundreds of secret deals for companies in Luxembourg.

The proposal gathered the backing of more than the required 188 MEPs to seek approval for a vote in the full European Parliament.

“An inquiry committee is the most powerful tool available to the parliament and can investigate breaches of EU law by member states”, Sven Giegold, a German Green MEP, said on his website yesterday. It will ensure MEPs “have sufficient resources for such an investigation, as well as access to the necessary documents”.