22 Amendments of Jens GEIER related to 2011/2154(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to its Written Declaration of 18 May 2010 on the Union's efforts in combating corruption1, with a view to ensure that EU funds are not subject to corruption, __________________ 1 P7_DCL(2010)0002
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- A. whereas the EU and the Member States share responsibility for the protection of the EU's financial interests and the fight against fraud, and whereas close cooperation between the Commission and the Member States is essential, (This amendment is a recital.)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 b (new)
Citation 11 b (new)
- B. whereas the Member States have the primary responsibility for implementing some 80% of the European Union budget as well as for the collection of traditional own resources in the form of VAT and customs duties, (This amendment is a recital.)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 c (new)
Citation 11 c (new)
- C. whereas in 2010 the overall financial impact of irregularities detected by control systems amounts to €2193 million, as compared to €1757 million in 2009, (This amendment is a recital.)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 d (new)
Citation 11 d (new)
- D. whereas according to the European Court of Auditors (ECA) the payments underlying the accounts were affected by material error, with an estimated error rate of 3.7% for the EU budget as a whole, whereas the control systems were found to be only partially effective in ensuring the regularity of payments, and whereas the main sources of errors relate to eligibility and public procurement errors, (This amendment is a recital.)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 e (new)
Citation 11 e (new)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 a (new)
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Stresses that global financial crisis, and in particular the eurozone crisis, which the EU is now facing, call for special measures to be put in place in order to ensure adequate protection of EU financial interests in terms of revenue, which are directly linked to the financial interests of the Member States; is of the opinion that a more rigorous implementation of fiscal policy has the potential of leading Europe out of the crisis, in particular by decreasing the size of EU's shadow economy, estimated to be at around one fifth of the official GDP1; __________________ 1 Size and Development of the Shadow Economy of 31 European and 5 other OECD Countries from 2003 to 2011 by Friedrich Schneider, at http://www.econ.jku.at/members/Schneide r/files/publications/2011/ShadEcon31.pdf;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 b (new)
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. Emphasises the potential for e- government to increase transparency and combat fraud and corruption thereby safeguarding public funds; underlines that Europe is lagging behind its industrial partners, inter alia due to lack of interoperability of systems1, stresses that, especially in a time of crisis, Europe must step up its efforts in achieving a new generation of e-government which would provide more transparency in public finances; __________________ 1 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Digital Agenda for Europe (COM(2010)245).
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 c (new)
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. Draws attention to the fact that electronic, non-cash transactions are documented and therefore make participating in the shadow economy more difficult and that a strong correlation appears to exist between the proportion of electronic payments in a country and its shadow economy1; encourages the Member States to lower their thresholds for compulsory non-cash payments; __________________ 1 The Shadow Economy in Europe, 2010: Using Electronic Payment Systems to Combat the Shadow Economy / Friedrich Schneider, A.T. Kearney, 2010.
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 d (new)
Subheading -1 a (new) - Paragraph -1 d (new)
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Recalls that proper collection of VAT and customs duties influences directly both the economies of the Member States and the EU budget; underlines that improving the systems of collecting revenue should be the utmost priority for all Member States, and in particular those, who face the biggest difficulties in the current economic climate;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Stresses that emphasis should move to more efficient revenue collection; stresses that tax fraud leads to exorbitant losses for the EU budget and the economies of the Member States, thus worsening the debt crisis; reminds that the cost of the existing shadow economy is borne by those citizens whose income is easily documented and traceable i.e. registered employees and pensioners;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. VAT losses (This amendment is a new subheading to the heading "Revenue. Own resources")
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Recalls that, according to a study carried out on behalf of the European Commission1, the estimated average EU VAT gap2 has been found to be at the level of 12%; draws special attention to the fact that this VAT gap has been put at an alarming level of, respectively, 30% and 22%, in Greece and Italy - the countries which are going through the most difficult debt crisis and whose situation threatens the economic stability across the EU-27; __________________ 1 Study to quantify and analyse the VAT gap in the EU-25, carried out by Reckon LLP on behalf of the Commission. 2 The difference between actual VAT receipts and what the Member States should theoretically receive based on their economies.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 e (new)
Paragraph 14 e (new)
14e. Stresses that besides tax avoidance and losses due to insolvencies, the VAT gap is attributable also to fraud, and that VAT losses, translating into billions of EUR, can only be compensated for via austerity measures touching upon those EU citizens whose income is easily traceable;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 f (new)
Paragraph 14 f (new)
14f. Points to the fact that since its introduction, the VAT collection model has remained unchanged; stresses that it is outdated, given the many changes to the technological and economic environment that have taken place;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 g (new)
Paragraph 14 g (new)
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 h (new)
Paragraph 14 h (new)
14h. Underlines that proceeds from customs duties are an important part of the EU's traditional own resources (TOR) and a source of income to the EU governments, who keep 25% to cover the cost of collection; reiterates that efficient prevention of irregularities and fraud in this field protects the Union's financial interests, and has important consequences for the Internal Market, eliminating the unfair advantage of economic operators who avoid duties over those who comply with their obligations in this respect;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 i (new)
Paragraph 14 i (new)
14i. Stresses that the correct operation of customs has a direct impact on the calculation of value added tax;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 j (new)
Paragraph 14 j (new)
14j. In this context reminds that the Court of Auditors, in its Special Report No 13/20111 , found that the application of customs procedure 422 alone accounted in 2009 for extrapolated losses of approximately 2 200 million EUR3 in the seven Member States audited by the Court, representing 29 % of the VAT theoretically applicable on the taxable amount of all the imports made under customs procedure 42 in 2009 in those countries; __________________ 1 ECA Special Report No 13/2011 "Does the control of customs procedure 42 prevent and detect VAT evasion?". 2 Regime used by an importer in order to obtain a VAT exemption when the imported goods will be transported to another Member State and where the VAT is due in the member State of destination. 3 Of which 1 800 million EUR were incurred in the seven selected member States and 400 million in the 21 member States of destination of the imported goods in the sample.
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 k (new)
Paragraph 14 k (new)
14k. Recalls that the Court of Auditors found serious deficiencies in the control of simplified customs procedures, which account for 70 % of all customs procedures; points out that they have led to unjustified losses to the Union budget and breaches in the EU's trade policy; stresses that the deficiencies identified consisted, inter alia, in poor quality or poorly documented audits and little use of automated data processing techniques for carrying out checks during the processing of simplified procedures;