Question for written answer E-002335/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Lídia Pereira (PPE), José Manuel Fernandes (PPE), Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE)
Subject: National Recovery and Resilience Plans – taxation and conditionality
The Recovery and Resilience Mechanism is the Union’s main instrument to support the European economy in its recovery from the severe economic consequences of the global pandemic. Member States are currently preparing to submit their national recovery and resilience plans, which still have to be assessed by the Commission. However, the Commission and the national governments have been engaged in dialogue prior to the submission of the proposals, which suggests that the plans to be submitted correspond to a prior, albeit conditional, agreement with the EU executive.
It has recently been reported(1) that the Commission is putting national governments ‘under pressure’ to include tax reforms in their plans, and that it is considering ‘freezing’ payments if the targets set in the plans are not met.
The following questions arise in this connection:
1. Given that the Union has competence for taxation matters, how does the Commission justify its reform efforts in this area?
2. In the specific case of the recovery and resilience plan submitted by Portugal, was taxation a topic of discussion in the political dialogue between the Commission and the Portuguese Government?
3. Does the Commission confirm or reject that payments under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism may be suspended in the event that targets are not met?
Supporters(2)
(1) https://www.ft.com/content/81e47f0d-b4f8-4c1a-a3fa-d72c9e9a8a4b
(2) This question is supported by Members other than the authors: Paulo Rangel (PPE), Álvaro Amaro (PPE), Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar (PPE)