Press conference by László Kovács, Grozny - Main contents

Press conference by László Kovács i, Member of the EC in charge of Taxation and Customs Union, on the adoption of a Communication which will identify possible EU's actions towards more transparency, exchange of information and fair competition in the tax area within and outside the EU. The European Commission as pioneer in the fight against tax evasion and tax fraud, in 2006, with its Communication stressed the need to elaborate a European strategy to better combat tax fraud and tax evasion. With the current financial crisis, national budgets are under increased threat and the need to guarantee revenue for national governments is more acute than ever. The OECD at the end of 2008 estimated that the world's tax havens have attracted around $5 trillion to $7 trillion in assets, although the degree of secrecy surrounding these accounts makes it difficult to determine exactly just how much is located in these individual jurisdictions. During the run-up of the G20 meeting a lot of non cooperative jurisdictions made commitments to accept international standards in the field of exchange of information. The European Commission with this communication intends to open the debate on concrete actions towards better governance in the tax area within and outside the EU.

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU and runs its day-to-day business. It is made up of the College of Commissioners, 27 European Commissioners, one for each member state, who are each responsible for one or several policy areas. In addition, the 'Commission' also refers to the entire administrative body that supports the Commissioners, consisting of the Directorates-General and the Services.

The European Commission is the sole EU body capable of proposing new legislation. The Commission also performs an oversight function, monitoring whether European legislation is properly implemented in the member states. In the event of non-compliance, the Commission can coerce a member state to comply by starting a legal procedure at the European Court of Justice.