EPP Group holds Bureau meeting in Budapest

On 4 and 5 June, the EPP Group will hold its Bureau meeting in Budapest to discuss policy positions on data protection and tax fairness.

MEPs will discuss the Group's position on tax fairness and data protection with a final approval to be given at an upcoming general Group meeting. While being in favour of tax competition between EU Member States, the EPP Group is against abuses and artificial shifting of economic activities to countries where they do not take place. The EPP Group deems the current situation discriminatory against SMEs as they do not have the resources to set up complicated tax avoidance schemes as some big multi-national companies have apparently done.

On the matter of data protection, the EPP Group's aim is to boost the EU’s competitiveness. This should be achieved while taking into consideration high level safeguards for EU citizens and providing legal certainty to companies.

As the issue of youth unemployment still remains problematic in several Member States, the agenda also features an overview of the situation and a discussion with the Hungarian Minister for Human Capacities, Zoltán Balog, and Tom Vandenkendelaere MEP, Coordinator of the EPP Group's Young Members Network.

High level Hungarian officials will meet Bureau members during the two-day meeting including the Speaker of the National Assembly, László Kövér, Minister of Finance, Mihály Varga, Minister for Justice, László Trócsányi, and the Deputy Minister for Human Capacities, Bence Rétvári. Intervention on the specific policy areas is expected from EPP European Commissioners: Vice-President Vladis Dombrovkis will join the panel on tax fairness, Commissioner Tibor Navracsics will be on the panel ‘Education to tackle youth unemployment’, and Commissioner Günther Oettinger will take part in the discussion on data protection. Invited academics and experts will also contribute to the panels.