15 April 2013

President Barroso in New York calls for global approach against tax evasion and fraud

Barroso delivered a keynote speech at a high level debate on "The United Nations and Global Economic Governance", organised by the President of the UN General Assembly. The debate aimed at examining various forms of interaction between the G20 and the rest of the world.

In his address, President Barroso made the point that greater interdependence between nations also requires greater cooperation. That is why the European Union has "sought to turn the challenge of interdependence into the reality of common governance".

In terms of economic governance, the President mentioned the tighter surveillance systems for budgetary and economic policies and a profound reform of the financial sector as measures taken within the EU to reinforce the system of economic governance. He also underlined the importance of international trade as a crucial factor for the global recovery. "The European Union has been a supporter of free trade and of the multilateral system and we are seeking to deepen our trade and economic relationships with many countries and regions across the world", he said.

The President, stressed, however, that the EU would remain committed to the WTO and to the Doha development Agenda despite its bilateral trade agenda. Furthermore, President Barroso commended the G20 as "a very effective forum for coordinating a global response" to the global financial and economic crisis. "We believe that the G20 has achieved a lot, but also that more needs to be done on many fronts. The G20 will be judged by how its members stick to agreed commitments. Past commitments need to be respected, unfulfilled commitments need to be addressed, and new commitments on new challenges need to be agreed. The EU will do its part to move the G20 agenda forward including its outreach with developing countries and stronger interaction with the UN", he said.

Referring to the EU action at a global level, Mr Barroso said the European Union is working to ensure greater fairness in the global economy. He said tax evasion costs the EU €1 trillion every year, “money that should be available to spend on education, skills, healthcare, and infrastructure investment”. As the EU is taking common action on exchange of information on tax havens and on aggressive tax planning, the President called for a global approach against tax evasion and tax fraud.

Full speech

Video

© European Commission