European Parliament: EU institutions need more money, we are considering the introduction of various corporate taxes

Climate change, expansion to new member states, immigration, and radical political options remain in the focus of the European Parliament in the coming year, leading up to the new round of European elections scheduled from June 6 to 9 next year. However, one of the main issues that will be discussed until the elections, and even after, will be how to repay the debt incurred under the EU Recovery Plan without jeopardizing investments and other EU programs.

One of the latest ideas that numerous representatives from almost all European parties advocate or at least do not openly oppose is the introduction of European taxes. Specifically, corporate taxes, cryptocurrency taxes, profit taxes, and similar taxes that would be designed and agreed upon by European parliamentarians would ensure that EU institutions have enough money to continue with the policies they have established, while also enabling the repayment of the debt incurred due to the Pandemic Recovery Fund and the crisis in Ukraine.

– We need innovative financial resources – can be heard in the European Parliament, where, less than a year before the elections, around 500 individual political campaigns for re-election are already underway. And now that the elections are in focus, discussions about the new fiscal role are only mentioned in “footnotes”.

– Help us shape future European policy, go out and vote for the European Parliament – called Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to journalists from numerous European countries, adding that this institution will continue to fight for a better Europe.

– Help us shape new policies that you want us to pursue – said Metsola, who advocates for the reform of the European Union ahead of elections that will not only elect new representatives but will also subsequently produce new members of the European Commission. And it seems that some of the latter are smiling at yet another mandate.

– The Greens were not thrilled with Ursula von der Leyen, but today we are far from that opinion. Skepticism has disappeared due to the adoption of the European Green Deal – emphasized Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the EP from the Green party, highlighting that the Greens are ready to support her in a new mandate in the same position.

Hautala is particularly pleased that during this mandate, the dependency on the EU’s sole gas supplier – Russia – has begun to be addressed. She emphasized this to justify why she personally was criticized for her ties to Russia, but she stresses that those ties are only with the “Russian diaspora” that fights for a different Russia where human rights are respected.

On this topic, she added that although this Russian diaspora is not dangerous, it should be kept an eye on; the danger from fossil gases is real, and Hautala believes that everyone understands the economic opportunities that have arisen for the economy with renewable energy sources, which she greatly welcomes.

More substantial budget for combating climate crises

– Nuclear energy is not green energy – emphasized Hautala, who openly spoke about the possibility of creating corporate taxes to raise funds for new green transitions.

– We want the parliament to have a greater role in climate taxation of corporations – she said, adding that she will advocate for this agenda in the coming years of the mandate, especially if the Greens gain a significant number of seats in parliament, as she believes this is a role that the parliament must take on given the crises.

– We need a more substantial budget to combat climate crises – Hautala stated, who is aware that there are challenges in the Green transition that need to be both fair and socially sensitive.

Socialists, on the other hand, believe that we are living in very difficult times; after the pandemic, the war in Ukraine occurred. However, as Pedro Silva Pereira, Vice-President of the EP, stated, his party’s position is that Europe has proven resilient and has acted in solidarity and unity.

– It is good that we have secured financial resources for member states to combat these challenges, and that is what we have succeeded in; our greatest victory in this mandate. We are particularly proud of this because during the last financial crisis, as an institution, we left citizens in the lurch, and they remembered that – Pereira said, mentioning the role of socialists in the adoption of the Green Deal, which was strongly opposed by radical right representatives, while socialists only sought social justice in that political agenda.

– New debates on the fiscal role of the European Parliament will certainly be in focus in the new mandate – Pereira also stated, emphasizing that we cannot live forever on EU aid measures, but that new fiscal models need to be established to combat future crises. We will need new political compromises, he says, concluding that socialists will seek even more progressive social measures.