The EESC believes that the fight against terrorism and its financing and efforts to combat money laundering and other related forms of economic crime should be permanent EU policy priorities. These efforts should be linked more closely with the efforts needed to combat tax fraud and tax avoidance. Therefore, the EESC considers creating public national registers of the beneficial owners of bank accounts, businesses, trusts and transactions, and access to them by obliged entities, to be a priority. Furthermore, all obligations laid down in the Anti Money Laundering Directive should be extended to all territories or jurisdictions whose sovereignty resides with the Member States. And free trade and economic partnership agreements should include a chapter on measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, tax fraud and tax avoidance.
Plenary Session 19-20 October 2016 - Related Opinions
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Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
ECO/414-EESC-2016-04584-00-00-ac-traReferral:
COM(2016) 452 final 2016/0209 CNSRapporteur:
Downloads:
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
INT/799-EESC-2016-04454-00-00-AC-TRARapporteur:
Raymond HENCKS (Luxembourg)
For the EESC it is essential that the Commission take further action to ensure that all e-retailers and consumers, and particularly individuals and SMEs in remote areas, can finally benefit from cross-border parcel delivery services that are accessible, high quality and affordable, fearing that the proposed measures not be enough and do little to encourage the cross-border parcel delivery services concerned to charge reasonable tariffs. Therefore the EESC regrets that the Commission is shelving any more stringent measures until the end of 2018, calling on the Commission to take the same approach it took to roaming charges in mobile communications.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
INT/792-EESC-2016-03274-00-00-ac-traRapporteur:
Ulrich SAMM (Germany)
While welcoming the existence of the Horizon 2020 program, the EESC is worried that funding for research into Societal Challenges has been significantly reduced. Moreover, the EESC is exceedingly concerned about the large disparities between Member States in terms of national funding for research and innovation.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
REX/461-EESC-2016-00758-00-00-AC-TRARapporteur:
The 2030 Agenda represents a breakthrough in multilateral cooperation, in the sense that it puts social and human development on a par with economic progress, and sees these three dimensions as a whole. Whereas the MDGs (Millennium Development goals) addressed primarily developing countries, this new Agenda is a transformational and universal agenda for all countries, and promotes a new, inclusive and participatory method of decision-making. The EU showed significant leadership in the process leading up to the adoption of the new SDGs (Sustainable Development Goasl). The opinion stresses that the EU needs to hold up its credibility both internally and externally, when it comes to implementing the Agenda and its 17 goals. Pointing to the universal and indivisible nature of the Agenda, the opinion underlines the importance of an EU response at the highest level, providing a robust base on which an overarching EU strategy should be founded.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
SOC/536-EESC-2016-01275-00-01-acRapporteur:
Co-rapporteur:
Alarming political decisions have shown that the EU lacks adequate instruments to safeguard fundamental values and the rule of law. A new European mechanism on the rule of law and fundamental rights is needed. The mechanism should include a regular assessment of Member States in a governance "policy coordination cycle", similar to the European Semester. The EESC should play an active role, as this will make for strong civil society involvement. The mechanism must be based on indicators, taking into account the indivisibility of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
INT/801-EESC-2016-04511-00-00-AC-TRAReferral:
COM(2016) 388 final 2016/0182 CODRapporteur:
Reine-Claude MADER (France)
While supporting the pilot project to set up a financial expertise centre for consumers and end-users of financial services, the EESC feels it would be useful to call for a number of conditions to be met: legitimacy, financial independence, transparency and accountability, public visibility, as well as balance between financial sector professionals and users.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
INT/797-EESC-2016-03623-00-00-AC-TRAReferral:
COM(2016) 289 final 2016/0152 CODRapporteur:
Joost VAN IERSEL (Netherlands)
The proposal from the Commission is a welcomed step further in the creation of a Digital Single Market, but it's not a game-changer. More ambitious and well-defined proposals for a Digital Single Market in favour of consumers and companies, should be put forward.
Justified geo-blocking resulting from different Member States' industrial policies and diverging legislation is also damaging the development of SMEs and scale-ups operating in Europe. The EU should focus equally on the remaining obstacles in the Single Market that discourage or hamper traders from selling on-line and/or off-line across borders.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
NAT/680-EESC-2016-01870-00-00-ac-traReferral:
COM(2016) 32 final Rapporteur:
Over recent years, there has been a shift in bargaining power in the food supply chain, mostly to the advantage of the retail sector and some transnational companies and to the detriment of suppliers, in particular primary producers. The concentration of bargaining power has led to the abuse of positions of dominance causing weaker operators to become increasingly vulnerable to Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs). The opinion takes stock of the impact of UTPs, stresses the difficult position of the most vulnerable actors along the chain and calls for action at EU level to stop UTPs and promote a fairer food supply chain.
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
ECO/408-EESC-2016-04274-00-01-ac-traReferral:
COM(2016) 450 final 2016/0208 CODRapporteur:
The EESC believes that the fight against terrorism and its financing and efforts to combat money laundering and other related forms of economic crime should be permanent EU policy priorities. These efforts should be linked more closely with the efforts needed to combat tax fraud and tax avoidance. Therefore, the EESC considers creating public national registers of the beneficial owners of bank accounts, businesses, trusts and transactions, and access to them by obliged entities, to be a priority. Furthermore, all obligations laid down in the Anti Money Laundering Directive should be extended to all territories or jurisdictions whose sovereignty resides with the Member States. And free trade and economic partnership agreements should include a chapter on measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, tax fraud and tax avoidance.
Downloads:
Presentation Commission "Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2015/849"
Sprejeta on 19/10/2016
Referenca:
TEN/600-EESC-2016Referral:
COM(2016) 399 final 2016/0185 CODRapporteur:
Raymond HENCKS (Luxembourg)
The EESC supports the Commission's initiatives to achieve "roam-like-at-home" from 15 June 2017 as well as its efforts to eliminate the failures of the wholesale roaming market.
However, pre-emptive measures will be necessary to prevent operators from compensating for the drop in revenue resulting from the abolition of roaming charges by increasing domestic charges or by means of other improper practices. The EESC also expresses serious reservations about the new possibility given to operators to negotiate "innovative wholesale pricing schemes" outside the regulated prices (caps) that would not be directly linked to the actual volumes consumed. Commercial negotiations based on flat payments are likely to lead to cartels and abuses of dominant positions.
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