S&D Group president Gianni Pittella said on the issue:
"The credibility of all the European institutions is now at stake. We ask President Juncker to take immediate concrete measures to finally regulate tax ruling and fiscal dumping to achieve a full harmonisation of fiscal policies between member states.
"First of all, we ask President Juncker and his Commission to adopt a clear and extensive definition and a common set of criteria to identify tax havens. Commission and member states should then refrain from granting EU funding to companies involved in fiscal law infringement.
"Under country by country reporting, multinationals would finally have to break their information down by country of operation – including in each tax haven. Taxes would have to be paid in the country where profits are realised. This is what we expect from the Commission and what we demand.
"It is a shame that multinational enterprises do not pay taxes where they produce their profit. It is also a shame that national governments sign secret agreements with enterprises which help them not to pay taxes, thereby producing fiscal dumping.
"It is indeed a shame, with regard to austerity, that Greece and other member states have been asked to implement very harsh measures on social expenditures whilst at the same time multinational enterprises are eluding taxes thanks to the cooperation of European national governments.
"And what it is even worse in most of these cases is that no rules or laws have been infringed. We can no longer allow this. Juncker has to demonstrate his willingness to become the trigger for a genuine revolution against fiscal dumping. This is the only way to gain the strength and legitimacy necessary to convince national governments to take their responsibilities in front of European citizens. European people are looking at us."
