Panama Papers investigation: obstruction and lack of cooperation hinder progress
Greens/EFA paper on one year of the PANA committee
Commenting on the one year anniversary of the Panama Papers inquiry, member of the committee Sven Giegold says:
"Rather than hampering our progress, the Council should be working with the European Parliament to bring an end to money-laundering and tax dodging. That must include ending its blockade of an ambitious revision to the anti-money laundering directive. After all that has been uncovered, it is ridiculous that Member States continue to be soft on criminals in order to protect their own national privileges.
"As the current holder of the EU Presidency, Malta is rightly under the spotlight. The Maltese government cannot simply wish away its recent scandals. We look forward to finally being able to put some difficult questions to Prime Minister Muscat.
"Finally, it is farcical that so many documents crucial to this inquiry continue to be kept secret from both politicians and the public. It took whistleblowers to make the Panama Papers public. One year into our inquiry, we should not be reliant on leaks to get our hands on crucial information. European citizens have a right to learn which member states blocked tax justice in Council and to hold their national governments accountable."
