The European Parliament this afternoon discussed a response to the revelations of the Panama Papers.
The only Maltese speaker, Nationalist MEP David Casa, insisted in a short statement that the actions of a small clique in power in Malta, mentioned in the papers, should not be seen as being a reflection on Malta.
The debate was opened by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert for the Dutch Presidency and by Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner on Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.
Minister Hennis-Plasschaert insisted that all countries, including Panama, should respect the standards expected of the majority of countries, particularly with regard to tax reporting.
She also underlined the need for swift agreement within the EU on a new Tax Avoidance Directive and for the completion of a process for the identification of third countries that do not meet anti-money laundering standards. Targeted amendments to the recently-approved Money Laundering Directive may also be necessary.
EU Finance Ministers will also be discussing the Panama Papers in their meeting this month.
Mr Moscovici said that the scale and the harm which had been caused was such that the people of Europe could not comprehend and tolerate.
“There is a need to transform public indignation into something positive and tangible.
“This is a political opportunity and duty to tackle tax evasion and tax fraud, aggressive tax planning and money laundering.”
He called for new rules to clamp down on tax havens and systems to increase transparency in taxation among and beyond European countries through automatic exchange of tax data.
“Banking secrecy is dead in the water, it is beginning to disappear in Europe,” he said.
He said the European Commission had decided that multinational groups would now be obliged to provide country by country reporting.
There was also need for the identification of trusts and companies in order to be in a better position to combat money laundering and tax evasion.
He said there was need for a pan European black list of tax havens, possibly within six months. There should also be an improved regulatory arsenal including a review of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
Interventions were also made by the leaders of the biggest political groups.
During interventions by MEPs, Nationalist MEP David Casa referred to the introduction by the head of the Socialist Group Gianni Pittella
He said he respected him for his honesty and integrity and agreed with him on the need for zero tolerance but there was one country, with one minister and a chief of staff mentioned in the Panama Papers. They came from the socialist party, although this was an issue which went beyond parties. What would be done about it?
Sig Pittella said he would not discriminate between the various political groups and he was calling for across the board clarity.
Speaking later Mr Casa said the Panama Papers showed how people could circumvent rules. Malta, he said, had a strong financial services industry with high regulatory standards and the actions of a small clique in power did not reflect the honest and correct character of the Maltese people.
The Maltese people in their majority were saying that acts of corruption were unacceptable.
Therefore he agreed with MPs on the government side that decisions needed to be taken because Malta was honest and respected European legislation and standards.
Replying to a question, Mr Casa spoke about the protest held on Sunday and condemned what he said were attacks at some people who had taken part.