Malta is not a tax haven, yet it is not cooperative in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, Pana committee co-rapporteur Petr Jezek said on Tuesday.

Speaking during a debate on the Pana report, which investigated the Panama Papers leak, Mr Jezek, a liberal MEP, expressed his concern that the list of tax havens was not expanded to certain EU countries.

Socialist MEPs last week agreed to propose an amendment to the Pana report, calling on the European Commission to regard Malta and a number of other EU members states as tax havens.

All Maltese MEPs have vowed to vote against the amendment.

EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has pledged the Commission’s full support in the fight against tax evasion and money laundering.

Mr Moscovici insisted on Tuesday on the need for more automatic sharing of information, as well as the strengthening of anti-money laundering agencies.

He said that while EU counties were not included on the EU blacklist of tax havens, the Commission still had serious concerns about some member states.

The Commission recently launched an investigation into Malta’s and the UK’s application of VAT rules on yachts.