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BusinessEurope Headlines No. 2017-30

Tax Policy Group meets Estonian Presidency  

BusinessEurope’s Tax Policy Group, with the help of the Estonian Employers Confederation, met in Tallinn on 14 September in light of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the meeting, the group welcomed Dmitri Jegorov, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Estonian Ministry of Finance, with whom they discussed Estonia’s priorities regarding tax, such as the taxation of digital companies, the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) and VAT-reform. The group stressed to Jegorov that any initiative by the Estonian Presidency in the area of digital taxation must both respect the EU-member states’ competences to set their own tax policies, and be developed on the basis of existing global taxation principles as agreed with other members of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). The group also underlined that any proposal on the taxation of digital companies needs to be developed and considered carefully, given the potential impact on competitiveness and growth for EU companies in this growing sector.

Contact: Pieter Baert

Parliament votes on European Accessibility Act

The European Parliament approved on 14 September in its plenary vote an amended text of the European Accessibility Act, which intends to improve the access of persons with disabilities to a wide range of products and services. While the approved text is a step forward compared to the European Commission’s proposal, there are still a number of issues that may result in legal uncertainty for companies. At present, the Act is being discussed in the European Council, after which trilogues between the European Commission, Parliament and Council are expected to take place. BusinessEurope issued a Joint Industry Statement with several other industry organisations ahead of the vote on 14 September and a Press Release afterwards. We fully understand the objective of improving the participation of persons with disability in society and have aimed to provide constructive input in the context of the European Accessibility Act.

Contact: Basje Bender​

Social partners analyse European Social Fund’s support to social dialogue

BusinessEurope, together with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME), initiated a project to document how the European Social Fund (ESF) supports social dialogue, including whether sufficient resources are devoted to meet social partners’ capacity building needs. The ESF provides significant financial resources to fund a wide range of activities at national, regional and/or local levels with the objective of supporting the EU’s employment and social objectives. During the first regional seminar on the project, which took place in Prague on 14 and 15 September, BusinessEurope made the case for promoting more transparency on the decision-making and funding allocation process, as well as for a clear recognition of the distinctive role of social partners in the labour markets. The seminar allowed national social partners from around ten Member States to exchange their national practices and learn from each other. European social partners’ work will continue in the coming year, and the outcome of this research will be made public in 2018.

Contact: Guillaume Cravero

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Last updated: 27 September 2017