International

In the next two years the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the body that brings wealthy countries together, has to produce a range of measures to combat tax evasion. Most of the negotiations around these measures take place behind closed doors. On the initiative of SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, however, there has now been an interparliamentary network established that will be advising the OECD on this issue. ‘The first meeting, which took place yesterday in Paris, was a big success,’ says De Jong. ‘Some fifty MPs from across the OECD countries were present and it turned out that every one of them was aware of the need to close all the loopholes in the law so that big international corporations at last have to pay tax. As things stand only ordinary people in small and medium-sized businesses pay their full whack. This has to change and quickly.’

The European Commission yesterday presented its first report on corruption within the EU. The report, however, is incomplete and has appeared eight months after it was due. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong explains: ‘In 2011, together with a group of like-minded MEPs, I gave an action plan against corruption to Commissioner Malmström. Almost three years later the only result is a report that contains little new information on the situation in the member states and absolutely no information on corruption within the European institutions themselves. There needs now to be a supplementary report on this, or we’ll have missed our chance.’