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EU finance ministers have decided today to remove eight countries from the EU’s blacklist for tax havens, rushing to take countries off the blacklist without it being clear what they have actually committed to improve.

Today, the European Commission proposed that EU countries tax windfall profits made by energy companies. This one-off tax would capture the excess profits made during the recent spike in gas prices. 

The European Union, which holds eight seats out of twenty four on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board, has made an offer to rotate some of their IMF board seats with middle-income countries

EU finance ministers today discussed the future "EU blacklist" for tax havens. The proposal says that a 0% tax rate will only be seen as an "indicator" that a particular country or a tax jurisdiction should be screened - but that further analysis will be required before they end up on any blacklist.In reaction, Oxfam’s EU tax expert Aurore Chardonnet said:“It's welcome that the EU now accepts that a 0% tax rate is potentially harmful, but it is more serious than simply being an ‘indicator’ that warrants investigation. A 0% tax…

European aid to poor countries is stalling two years ahead of the UN Millennium Development Goals deadline, with aid cut or stagnant in 19 member states, reveals the new Concord AidWatch report.

Europe currently wastes land the size of Ireland on crops for biofuels which is an obstacle to tackling the climate crisis and food security, a new study shows. The study commissioned by T&E shows that this land could be used to feed 120 million people or, if given back to nature, could absorb twice as much CO2 as is supposedly saved by powering cars with biofuels. Using an area equivalent to just 2.5% of this land for solar panels would produce the same amount of energy.

Europe’s General Court ruled that Amazon did not profit from illegal state aid in Luxembourg. This ruling dates back to a 2017 European Commission decision which stated that Amazon benefited from an illegal tax deal with Luxembourg and had to repay €250 million in unpaid taxes to the Grand Duchy. Amazon and Luxembourg have appealed this decision. The verdict follows last year’s defeat for the Commission in its high-profile case against Apple and Ireland.  

EU Development Ministers have just recommited to an old promise made by donors back in 1970s, failing to provide any guarantees to poor countries that Europe is serious about getting back on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals, warns Oxfam.

Following the abuses revealed in the Panama Papers, world leaders attending the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week must seize the moment to take decisive action and help end the era of tax havens, said Oxfam today.

The international tax system is broken and unfair.  July’s Finance for Development Conference in Addis is the perfect time to ensure all parties agree to tackle this problem.