Paradise Papers: "Organised, large-scale lack of responsibility"

EPP Group calls for speeding up work on blacklists of tax havens and places used for money laundering

"Normal citizens and companies pay taxes. The new leaks show once again the organised, large-scale lack of responsibility of some who do not want to contribute to common welfare," Burkhard Balz MEP and Dariusz Rosati MEP stated today in the European Parliament.

"Only much stronger cooperation, both within the EU and on an international level, can prevent tax evasion and money laundering. The new leaks also raise a lot of questions about certain EU Member States," Balz added.

The EPP Group calls for speeding-up work on the two planned blacklists of tax havens and places used for money laundering. "We must make sure that these blacklists come with objective criteria and with sanctions that motivate the listed countries to get off the list. The goal of such lists is not to punish, but to change the behaviour of such jurisdictions and prevent tax fraud," Rosati said.

"A thorough assessment of the information contained in the new leaks needs to be done first," Balz stressed. "In the existing Panama Papers Inquiry Committee we will discuss the revelations," Rosati concluded.

Balz is the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Parliament's Committee on Economic Affairs. Rosati is the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Panama Papers Inquiry Committee.

The new leaks also raise a lot of questions about certain EU Member States. Burkhard Balz MEP