Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002250/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Zacharia (NI)
The massive concentration of capital in offshore structures is not just a tax problem but a structural threat to democracy and the national sovereignty of Member States. The Panama and Pandora Papers revealed that most of the world’s wealth is located in invisible offshore schemes, with complete opacity and zero accountability. Shell companies, based in tax havens, operate in the EU without any substantial disclosure of the real shareholders and without any additional tax liability. Their operation, often with the involvement of political figures, financial intermediaries and criminal networks, undermines the rule of law, expropriates valuable public resources and turns Member States into blackmailable administrators.
The European Union has adopted a series of measures to ensure the transparency of corporate structures, such as Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of money laundering, Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on capital transfers and Recommendation 2022/590 on shell companies. However, the reality is that thousands of offshore companies continue to operate within the EU, without full disclosure of the natural persons who control them and without tax registration in Member States.
In view of the above:
- 1.Does the Commission intend to propose a single regulation prohibiting offshore operations within the EU unless the beneficial owner is fully disclosed and registration with a European tax authority is proven?
- 2.Does the Commission intend to impose additional taxation and prohibit European banks from transacting with non-compliant offshore companies?
Submitted: 4.6.2025