In response to the extraordinary leak in the so-called Panama Papers which have exposed the extent of off-shore tax evasion, the president of the S&D Group Gianni Pittella today announced that he will request the establishment of an inquiry committee. The proposal will be made at a meeting of the leaders of the various political groups within the European Parliament during the next Conference of Presidents.
 
At his press conference this morning in Strasbourg, Gianni Pittella said:
 
"The S&D Group will request the establishment of an inquiry committee on the so-called Panama Papers scandal. We call for zero-tolerance on tax evasion and avoidance. Our Group was the one who asked for and obtained an extraordinary discussion for this Plenary session. We call on the EU Commission to come up with a broad European black list of tax havens as well as a set of sanctions against financial institutions and banks that help rich people hide their money in tax havens and evade tax in their own country. We can no longer accept this provocation against ordinary citizens who pay their taxes.
 
"This battle has always been a priority for the S&D Group, since we first asked for the introduction of financial transaction tax as well as for better regulation of hedge funds. This is a battle for civilisation and justice".