Panama Papers: European Parliament kicks off its investigation

The biggest tax scandal of all time – involving both politicians and well-known figures, and triggering a range of investigations – deserved the highest possible response from the European Parliament. That is exactly what the Greens called for immediately after the Panama Papers revelations and what was finally approved at the beginning of June.

Today marks the first formal meeting of the newly created “PANA” inquiry committee. Over the next 12 months, they will investigate not only who was directly involved in this tax scandal, but who let it happen, either on purpose or inadvertently.

This morning’s initial meeting will be more about procedure than content: this constitutive meeting will formally elect a chair and four vice-chairs, including MEP Eva Joly for the Greens.

But content will follow soon after, as right after the constitutive meeting, all political groups will gather to exchange views on what they want to achieve over the next 12 months. The objective is to get an agreement on when to organise hearings, who to invite to testify, which studies to commission and which official documents to request from other European institutions.

The Greens have their contribution ready, which you can find here.

We are eager to start working as soon as possible to ensure we can get into a fully investigative mood as of September. Indeed, we know that even the previous Luxleaks scandal is not over. More will come out and should be uncovered in the coming months, especially now that the second whistleblower, Raphael Halet, has been presented to the public and harshly convicted to nine months of suspended jail time.

• Raphael Halet donation page
• Raphael Halet petition of support
• Antoine Deltour donation page
• Antoine Deltour petition of support

Ending the unfinished business of the Luxleaks committee and shedding light on the Panama Papers revelations will be a full-time job for the months to come. A full-time job our green team is ready to take on.