Comité Económico y Social Europeo
Activities of organised crime organisations like money laundering and the tapping of public funds have consequences for the economy, business and society. A crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic may be an opportunity for organised crime to spread their activity, gain power and even innovate to find new ways to pursue their objectives.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) played a central role in bringing the consensual views of organised civil society in the EU to the attention of policy-makers and contributing to the rapidly evolving economic policy response at European level.
In this regard, we believe that now is the time for the EU institutions to make decisive steps in approving swiftly the new Facility and putting in place the necessary implementation mechanisms at European and national level, so that the hardest hit Member States, citizens and businesses can benefit from the relevant EU funding when they need it most.
Europe and its Member States have to deliver wellbeing to the citizens and this can only be done through investments and jobs. This means that the impact which taxes and tax measures have on investments, jobs, trade and growth must be brought to the forefront of the debate.
While the OECD stresses that all taxes have the potential to discourage growth, its analysis of tax structures has found corporate taxes to be the form of taxation that is most harmful to economic growth. Empirical studies confirm that there is a negative relationship between corporate taxes and economic growth.
In order to encourage a broader and more balanced discussion on taxation, the Employers' Group requested that the EESC commission, in 2018, the study on The role of taxes on investment to increase jobs in the EU – An Assessment of Recent Policy Developments in the field of corporate taxes.
The public hearing on "Towards a more resilient and sustainable European economy with a vision for completing EMU" to be held on Friday, 12 April 2019, starting at 11.30 a.m., will discuss from a wider civil society perspective the future of the European economy and the political initiatives and decisions that need to be taken during the upcoming legislative term and beyond. Taking into account the conclusions of the debate, the EESC will draw up two own-initiative opinions, entitled "Towards a more resilient and sustainable European economy" and "A new vision for completing the Economic and Monetary Union", to be forwarded to the new European Parliament and European Commission.
Pretendemos en este acto público, organizado el 5 de febrero de 2019 en Madrid, establecer un debate sobre los aspectos principales de la economía de la Unión Europea, de su situación y su gobierno, abordando la coyuntura y las perspectivas de futuro, así como las políticas económicas en sus facetas macroeconómica, fiscal y financiera.
Se hablará de la economía española, haciéndolo con una perspectiva europea, enmarcada por la situación económica y las políticas europeas.
Organizado conjuntamente por el Comité Económico y Social Europeo (CESE) y la Representación de la Comisión Europea en España, se quiere establecer un diálogo entre representantes de la sociedad civil organizada, del gobierno español y de la academia.
Public hearing Taxation of the sharing economy - analyse of possible tax policies faced with the growth of the sharing economy
in the framework of exploratory opinion requested by the Estonian Presidency.
Tax competition between EU Member States may be harmful when it results in permanent losses of government tax revenues, may also distort competition between companies in the EU's single market and can have negative impacts on other EU policy areas. The EESC is currently drawing up an own-initiative opinion that aims to formulate solutions that can help to mitigate the negative effects of tax competition and to contribute to building a fairer and more transparent European fiscal system. In order to gain further insights the EESC organised a public hearing on Wednesday, 24 May 2017, starting from 10 a.m.
Thematic debate on "Taxation of the Digital Economy", with Rita de la Feria, renowned tax expert (listed in the Global Tax 50, 2015 and 2016) and professor of tax law at the University of Leeds, organised during the ECO Section meeting on Friday, 5 May 2017, at the EESC premises in Brussels.
In recent years, a discussion has unfolded on international tax agreements in relation to EU partnerships with developing countries. As a contribution to the debate, the EESC is currently drafting an opinion in which it will examine the arguments presented in recent studies on capital flows and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) out of and into developing countries, and will look at the coherence between EU development and investment policies. Furthermore, the opinion aims to further the dialogue between European Commission and the Member States regarding double taxation agreements, investment and development policy objectives.
Given that Europe's priority today is to promote sustainable growth and investment within a fair and better integrated market, the corporate tax reforms package will help to provide a fair and efficient taxation of corporate profits. The EESC is currently drawing up three interlinked opinions on key proposals presented and in this framework the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO) will organise a public hearing on "The Corporate tax reforms package - with focus on Common (Consolidated) Corporate Tax Base".
