The EU needs new sources of revenue, MEPs stress - Hoofdinhoud

New streams of EU i revenue to be proposed in July should bring fairer taxation and help repay the debt incurred to finance the EU recovery plan, MEPs said on Tuesday.

In a debate in plenary, Commissioner Johannes Hahn i confirmed that the Commission will table proposals for three new EU income streams based on a carbon border adjustment mechanism, a digital levy and the EU Emissions Trading System as specified in the “roadmap for new Own Resources”.

MEPs welcomed the announcement but criticised the Commission for the delay in the proposals, which will come out on 14 July instead of in June, as agreed with Parliament. They stressed they will be vigilant about the binding agreement being respected and underlined that the new Own Resources are necessary for the future of the EU. The new revenue will serve to repay the joint debt caused by borrowing to finance the recovery fund, to avoid it turning into a burden for future generations. It will help fight climate change and lead to fairer taxation, in line with the recent G7 agreement on global tax reform, to ensure big multinational companies pay their fair share of taxes.

Watch the debate or the individual speeches by MEPs (click on debate on “State of play of the implementation of the Own Resources roadmap”).

Background

The new own resource based on non-recycled plastic packaging waste will be introduced retroactively from 1 January 2021. It is part of the current Own Resources Decision, now ratified by all member states, since the end of May.