The fact that the Republic of Panama is a so called tax haven is not news. But the apparent extent of the tax evasion and the suspicion that heads of states and governments are involved is scandalous and calls for both legal and political investigations. Therefore, immediately after the new revelations, the ALDE group has called for the law firm Mossack Fonseca to be invited to the European Parliament's special committee on unfair tax practices TAX2, to give evidence on the involvement of European citizens and companies in tax avoidance.
 
Michael Theurer, ALDE co-rapporteur for the Parliament's Special Committee on Tax Rulings (Taxe II) commented: "The Panama papers are as shocking as the LuxLeaks-revelations two years ago, which I cover as one of two of the European Parliament's special tax rapporteurs. These new reports add weight to our fight for fair tax competition and an effective European legislative framework. Of course the special committee TAX2 will analyse the findings and results of the Panama papers, too. The sustained fight against tax avoidance or evasion is one of the aims of the special tax committee, which could not cover the issue of tax havens during its first mandate for reasons of time constraints. As co-rapporteur, I am urging that we clarify the role of  banks in this. The special committee has to focus further on tax havens and has to ensure that investigations proceed. I also renew my call for Finance ministers from relevant EU member states such as the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and Italy to appear before our committee."