Apple tax ruling: EU proves it can still pack a punch

Just when you thought the European Union was down, it’s delivered a blow that shows you can’t count it out, writes Ian Wishart.

In taking a bite out of Apple, the beleaguered bloc has gone where the US feared to tread and demonstrated it still has clout when it comes to taking on corporate giants.

The move is a powerful reminder to the UK that in patrolling the terms of access to its half a billion consumers, the EU punches its global weight. There’s something else as well. By ordering the world’s richest company to pay Ireland a record €13bn in back taxes, it’s given the UK a chance to reinvent itself as a fiscal paradise for multinationals in a post-Brexit world.