The joint fight against tax avoidance and evasion is the main topic at the EU summit taking place this Wednesday in Brussels. However a concrete agreement on matters like EU-wide data exchange on account holders' incomes is not expected. In view of the immense sums that EU states lose to tax dodging each year, which could be put to good use in the crisis, commentators call for international tax laws.
With articles from the following publications:
Hospodářské noviny - Czech Republic, Diário de Notícias - Portugal, Libération - France, Irish Examiner - Ireland, De Volkskrant - Netherlands
Hospodářské noviny - Czech Republic
If at their summit in Brussels the EU leaders get serious about their fight against tax evasion they could open up new instruments to combat the crisis, the liberal business daily Hospodářské noviny writes hopefully: "It has taken more than four years for Europe's politicians to realise that it's not enough to cut benefits and raise taxes. There is another major reservoir to be tapped for money - cracking down on tax evasion. Commission chief Barroso has even called for tax data exchange across the EU. … It's strange that the fight against such a dirty business has taken so long. Tax evasion deprives the EU of a sum approximating one trillion euros each year. That's more than the entire EU budget for healthcare. … Fears that the tax evasion business will transfer to places like Singapore are only partially justified. Big business will no doubt find a loophole. But for everyone else, anything outside Europe is terrain that is too foreign." (22/05/2013)
Europe's course of action in the fight against tax avoidance has so far been unambitious, the liberal-conservative daily Diário de Notícias contends, calling on the EU member states to finally follow up words with deeds at their summit in Brussels today, Wednesday: "It's estimated that the continent loses around a trillion euros in revenues each year - that's roughly the sum of Portugal's GDP over six years. The sacrifices being demanded of citizens across Europe to reduce the public deficits have reached tragic proportions. Particularly when you look at the profiteers who twist the tax laws to such an extent that a sum twice as high as all the EU deficits taken together is embezzled. Tax transparency and the fight against tax havens have been on the G20's agenda for four years now. If the US and the EU crank up the pressure, the rest of the world will join them in the fight against tax havens and their dirty money. Then we'll see tangible results, not just rhetoric." (22/05/2013)
Close cooperation is needed to fight tax avoidance not just in Europe but around the world, the left-liberal daily Libération demands: "The crisis has a sad virtue. It has made people in most Western countries aware of the circuits into which billions of euros or dollars from the state treasuries disappear each year. Fiscal fraud is a global plague that arouses legitimate indignation on the part of the public. Accepting taxes is one of the basic pillars our democracies are built on. Those who seek to avoid them must be relentlessly hunted down. But determination on the part of individual governments isn't enough. Whether it's organised by individuals or large companies, fraud is the consequence of a lack of international cooperation. The global economy requires a global taxation system." (22/05/2013)
During a hearing before the US Senate on Thursday, Apple boss Tim Cook faced accusations that the technology company was using its network of foreign subsidiaries to avoid taxes. The liberal daily Irish Examiner calls for new international tax rules: "The challenge for the international community is to establish and enforce codes that encourage business, but also ensure that multibillion-dollar tax liabilities cannot be dodged by sharp accounting. That this has never been achieved indicates how very difficult that task is. However, unless we are prepared to see even more power swing away from elected governments to international conglomerates without any social or national loyalties then that must be done. It will require political, diplomatic and financial skills of the highest order, great determination too, but the consequences of not doing so are disastrous." (22/05/2013)
There are more than enough arguments for plugging up the tax loopholes used above all by multinational companies, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant argues, while remaining doubtful that Europe's politicians will really take any action: "This issue is being avoided by portraying one's own behaviour as exemplary and pinning the blame on others. In the Apple affair, Ireland is pointing to the loopholes in the US legislation that make tax tricks possible. And the Netherlands is also depicting itself as beyond reproach. The government stresses that all the constructions [that allow tax avoidance] are legal and that the Netherlands earns a billion euros each year with this. That is enough to silence the parliament for the most part. … It's good that there is now more than enough support for measures against tax loopholes - and the sum of at least a trillion euros in lost income estimated by the European Commission is consolidating that support. On the other hand there is the danger of growing frustration if the multinationals continue to get away with their tricks." (22/05/2013)
The European Commission plans to impose punitive duties on solar panels from China as of June in a bid to protect Europe's solar energy market. Germany's Minister of Economics Philipp Rösler warned on Sunday that Beijing could retaliate, and called for a compromise solution. Commentators also say that this protectionist stance may harm the vital economic ties with China and ultimately also be detrimental for European consumers.
With articles from the following publications:
Financial Times - United Kingdom, Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany
Financial Times - United Kingdom
Not just China has criticised the announcement by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht that in future punitive duties will be imposed on solar panels from China. The Federation of Germany Industries (BDI), as well as German Economics Minister Philipp Rösler described the plans on the weekend as wrong. Instead of antagonising China Europe should seek a compromise, the liberal daily Financial Times urges: "Mr De Gucht is not unjustified in worrying that Beijing may consciously be undermining industries in Europe that it wants to develop in China. But here he has picked the wrong fight. If he goes ahead with duties, it will be hard for Germany to build a qualified majority of EU states to overrule him. All the more reason for Beijing and Berlin to come up with a face-saving compromise that Mr De Gucht can accept in the EU's interest." (20/05/2013)
Europe and China should not jeopardise their important economic ties through protectionism, the liberal business daily Il Sole 24 Ore warns: "The economic crisis is sowing discontent and dividing the EU. But at the same time it highlights the advantages the EU draws from its growing trade relations with China - and vice versa. The volume of trade has quadrupled in the past ten years. ... Apart from the economic data and punitive duties, China and Europe have better arguments to convince each other of the advantages of their mutual ties. Beijing can remind Brussels of the importance of its market [for EU exports], while Brussels can point to the upcoming negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the US (and the danger of China becoming isolated when it comes to international trading regulations, which are a source of such concern for the Chinese establishment). In these circumstances good old common sense should prevail." (21/05/2013)
Penal duties on Chinese solar modules are the wrong approach, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, arguing that it's consumers who will end up footing the bill: "Those who say that the competition from China works with dubious methods are trying to divert attention from their own mistakes - and are forgetting that [German company] Solarworld was only able to grow so large because it benefited from German subsidies on renewable energies. The consumers will end up paying the price for protecting just 2000 jobs in Bonn, because the measure will make solar modules more expensive. And also the cost of expanding renewable energies will rise. ... Instruments like anti-dumping procedures simply have no place in the modern world. The production of solar modules is, like the production of most other goods nowadays, so scattered across the globe that building a wall around the EU market almost always indirectly affects the European suppliers too." (18/05/2013)
France's struggling President François Hollande called on Thursday for an economic government in the Eurozone. With this offensive Paris risks a dangerous confrontation with Berlin, some commentators observe. Others describe Hollande's call for a political union as a radical change in France's Europe policy.
With articles from the following publications:
Corriere della Sera - Italy, Lidové noviny - Czech Republic, Le Figaro - France, Phileleftheros - Cyprus
Corriere della Sera - Italy
In his speech Hollande explained that he wanted to address German calls for a political union. According to the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera this is a ploy by Hollande to find out how serious Germany really is about deepening EU integration: It's a radical change of course in French policy. In keeping with the old tradition of [French ex-president] Charles De Gaulle, France has so far shown reluctance to follow Germany politically on the path to EU integration. For the Élysée the measures for saving the euro took priority and as far as Paris was concerned Berlin's solemn words about the United States of Europe were mainly aimed at sidestepping concrete questions (on euro bonds or the banking union). The 'political union' remained a foreign concept for Hollande; he preferred to use the vague phrase 'community integration' instead. Now however France apparently wants Germany to lay its cards on the table. Do you really want a union? We do." (17/05/2013)
With his package of measures Hollande is maneuvering himself into a corner, the conservative daily Lidové noviny writes: "With the exception of the elites in France and Southern Europe, no one shares Hollande's ideas. Most of these, particularly on the subject of euro bonds, stand in direct contrast to Germany's interests. This isn't about European ideals, but about a fierce political battle over whether Europe will be more German or more French. For the French this is dangerous, even if they manage to push through their ideas. Once they pushed for the introduction of the euro in return for Germany's reunification, in the hopes of curbing Berlin's economic strength. However the exact opposite was the result." (17/05/2013)
François Hollande has once again failed to make the best of a good opportunity, the conservative daily Le Figaro writes with an eye to the second major press conference of the president's term in office: "It's not enough to talk about businesses for them to start creating jobs, nor to praise entrepreneurs for them to stay in the country. ... Apart from that, nothing new. It reminds one of those soldiers in operettas who go on and on singing 'Let's march! Let's march!' with their manly voices, all the while staying firmly rooted on the spot. ... Still more vague promises of cutbacks; a European diversionary tactic subjected to the will of Madame Merkel; huge public investments financed through loans. ... As long as the same causes go on having the same effects, who can believe for a moment that catastrophe can be avoided?" (16/05/2013)
No matter how many initiatives Holland comes up with, the first thing he has to do is fight the recession, the liberal daily Phileleftheros admonishes: "Zero growth means zero possibilities to reduce the extremely high unemployment. The number of jobless in France has exceeded the three-million mark - a record in the past 15 years. How should this situation be dealt with? Hollande is calling for an end to the austerity policy that has been introduced to bring the crisis under control. But apart from that, he's not doing enough to achieve this end. France's weak - and for many people bloodless - stance when decisions are made in the EU is not particularly helpful in this regard. To fight the recession you don't need words, but deeds. But so far that seems to be asking too much of Hollande." (16/05/2013)
According to a current survey by the US Pew Research Center, the euro crisis has deeply shaken the belief of European citizens in further EU integration. Above all the French, Greeks and Italians see little advantage in the economic union. Commentators view the survey as a clear sign that many people have been alienated by the sick man of Europe, who has been further weakened by the tough austerity policy.
With articles from the following publications:
Die Welt - Germany, Lidové noviny - Czech Republic, Gazeta Wyborcza - Poland, The Independent - United Kingdom, El País - Spain
Die Welt - Germany
The fact that the states of Europe are refusing to follow the advice of economist Maynard Keynes and spend in times of crisis is only reinforcing the Euroscepticism of many citizens, the conservative daily Die Welt contends: "The demonisation of Keynesianism has been so successful that - unlike the British and the Americans - even in the midst of the worst crisis since the end of the war it hasn't occurred to the continental Europeans to trust his ideas. ... The consequences of the 'practical failure' of neo-liberal ideas so feared by Keynes are in evidence all over Europe. Leftist proponents of the rule of the 'we' and right-wing nationalist ideologists are gaining ground. The main victim of the people's anger is the European Union: according to the Pew survey the French are now even more Eurosceptic than the British, and elsewhere too, the scepticism is reaching British levels. ... It may be that the penny-pinching approach is the right one in the long term. But in the long term, as Keynes noted, we'll all be dead." (16/05/2013)
Faced with the economic and monetary crisis, the people of Europe no longer believe in the European project, the conservative daily Lidové noviny comments regarding the study put out by the Pew Research Center in Washington: "The EU is the sick man of Europe. It is losing it's legitimacy in the eyes of the people at breakneck speed. Alienation is growing between the people of Europe, one which is by no means confined to demonstrators in Athens painting Hitler moustaches on posters of Angela Merkel. Only a couple of years ago Europe-optimists thought a European public sphere was being born. Now it's disappearing before our very eyes. That must worry the European optimists. Well-meant initiatives to strengthen the European identity have proven unable to counter the trend sparked by the crisis of the Eurozone." (16/05/2013)
The reputation of the EU in crisis-stricken states won't improve in the foreseeable future because the economies of the South are in such bad shape, the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza writes, interpreting the current Pew survey: "The problem is that opinions about Europe have worsened in all the places where the economy is also doing poorly and where there is little hope of a speedy recovery. In Germany by contrast, where the crisis has hardly had an impact, the poll responses are good. The EU and the Eurozone will no doubt only start to grow again in 2014. And it'll take another couple of years before we see effective structural reforms. ... Even if Brussels eases off on the belt-tightening, relations between the EU and the crisis-ridden South will continue to deteriorate in the coming years." (16/05/2013)
The Pew survey on the mood in the EU shows that the French are about as Eurosceptic as the British. A majority of Germans, by contrast, are still favourably disposed towards Europe. We are seeing a new dynamic in the EU, the left-liberal daily The Independent writes: "What is highly significant here is the wide gap between French and German attitudes compared with the fairly close alignment of British and French opinion. That is the new dynamic. And, in turn, these shifts will have big consequences for the politics of the European Union. Indeed, we are looking here at a historic change. The long-enduring Franco-German alliance, which has driven Europe along since the early 1950s, has come unstuck. It's broken; it's kaput. And it won't easily be put together again. ... Now in due course these shifting beliefs in the efficacy of European integration and changes in mood will influence European negotiations." (15/05/2013)
The economic performance of the Eurozone dropped by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, as the Eurostat EU statistics agency announced on Wednesday. The austerity policy is standing in the way of a recovery, the left-liberal daily El País concludes: "If there isn't a decisive change in economic policy, the Eurozone's economy will continue to shrink and it will be difficult to reduce unemployment. The decline in the living standards of the population and the growing inequality in the distribution of income have never been as dramatic in times of peace. The consequence is disgruntlement with the EU and its institutions. And not without reason. Because although we have been in the crisis for six years now, the European politicians and the most influential governments - led by Germany - still haven't found a formula for growth. Rather than strengthening the economies of the Eurozone, the austerity policy has further weakened them." (16/05/2013)
British Prime Minister David Cameron presented on Tuesday a draft bill for a referendum on EU membership to be held by 2017 in a bid to appease the EU opponents in his Conservative Party. But commentators say the draft will only lead to an anti-European rebellion among the Tories, and call on Cameron to campaign for a comprehensive reform of the EU instead.
With articles from the following publications:
Dagens Nyheter - Sweden, Público - Portugal, Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy, The Guardian - United Kingdom
Dagens Nyheter - Sweden
Cameron would do better to show more commitment to the European Union, instead of trying to appease the EU critics in his party, the liberal daily Dagens Nyheter comments: "We're better off on our own, the EU haters gripe. But since half of the UK's exports go to other EU member states, this is a risky attitude. Even if a free-trade agreement were signed, foreign investors would rather invest in a larger market than the British one. ... The United Kingdom is an important vote for the free market and against protectionism in the EU. Instead of emulating the [Eurosceptic] Ukip party, Cameron should work for a better and more democratic union with a free economy. If he shows that he believes in this model he will be able to persuade other countries to follow suit. And if it comes to a referendum, which seems increasingly inevitable, hopefully also his fellow citizens." (15/05/2013)
The spirits invoked by Cameron when he announced he would have a draft law written up on a referendum on the EU have come back to haunt the British prime minister, the liberal daily Público writes: "When Cameron announced in January that he would hold a referendum on whether Britain should exit the EU, he was using it to apply pressure, both at home and abroad. Now this 'weapon' has backfired on him: no sooner was a draft law for such a referendum made known in parliament than his ministers publicly announced that they would vote for Britain exiting the EU tomorrow if they had to. That means: What Cameron agreed to out of benevolence (and in the hope that it would be taken merely as a signal without further consequences) carries the risk of turning into an anti-European rebellion that is even infecting his own cabinet. Although he is actually for staying in the EU, Cameron now has a real problem. Will the Eurosceptics end up winning this game?" (14/05/2013)
Criticism of the Euroscepticism of the British Conservatives is short-sighted because the EU has lost sight of its goal, writes political scientist Vittorio Emanuele Parsi in the liberal business daily Il Sole 24 Ore: "The EU has morphed from an institution that was supposed to protect the peace of the continent from the threat posed by its imbalanced power relations into a multiplicator of this very imbalance. ... The Union and the monetary union serve all kinds of purposes today, but they do not prevent the stronger nations from having the upper hand against the weaker ones. This reawakens the old prejudices and national clichés which help populist, racist and anti-European movements gain force. Admonishing such trends or despising them has little effect. It makes more sense to be aware that because it has moved away from its original idea, the EU is well on its way to failing dramatically in its mission. It will never make the United States of Europe a reality." (15/05/2013)
The Labour Party must become more involved in the debate on the EU in Britain, advocating not an exit from the EU but its reform, the left-liberal daily The Guardian urges: "In the 1975 referendum, the left case against the then common market was that it was a cold war customs union against the developing world that would block socialist reforms. But the modern EU has gone much further, giving a failed neoliberal model of capitalism the force of treaty, entrenching deregulation and privatisation and enforcing corporate power over employment rights. ... What would be fatal would be to allow the nationalist right to continue to dictate the EU agenda and wrap itself in the mantle of democratic legitimacy. The terms of debate have to change - for the sake of both Britain and Europe." (14/05/2013)
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