On the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the Union, of the amendment of the Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of claims in the field of value added tax

PR_NLE-CN_Agreement_app

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*** Consent procedure

***I Ordinary legislative procedure (first reading)

***II Ordinary legislative procedure (second reading)

***III Ordinary legislative procedure (third reading)

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DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the Union, of the amendment of the Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of claims in the field of value added tax

(COM(2023)0736 – C90007/2024 – 2023/0419(NLE))

(Consultation)

– having regard to the proposal for a Council decision (COM(2023)0736),

– having regard to the draft amendment of the Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of claims in the field of value added tax (16014/2023),

– having regard to Article 113 and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (b), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C90007/2024),

– having regard to Rules 82 and 114(8) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A9-0057/2024),

1. Gives its consent to conclusion of the amendment of the agreement;

2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Kingdom of Norway.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The proposal addresses the amendment of the Agreement between the EU and Norway on administrative cooperation, fight against fraud and recovery of claims in the field of value added tax (VAT), which entered into force in September 2018.

The Agreement allows EU Member States and Norway to cooperate in a similar way Member States do to fight against VAT fraud, and assist each other to recover claims in the field of VAT. However, since 2018 several amendments in the cooperation in the area of VAT between EU Member States and new tools for administrative cooperation were introduced:

 enhancing the Eurofisc network through reinforced governance (joint processing and analysis of data);

 introducing the possibilities of administrative enquiries to be carried out jointly (joint audits);

 working with other law enforcement EU bodies (Europol, OLAF);

 sharing key information on imports and on vehicles;

 introducing new administrative cooperation tools, by allowing other means to exchange information than the standard forms;

 updating the legal reference to the new general data protection rules in the EU, as well as making it clear that the EU-Norway Joint Committee is not competent for general data protection disputes.

Including the above-mentioned changes into the amendment of the Agreement would allow for better cooperation and enhance the fight against VAT fraud, thus bringing added value for both the EU Member States and Norway. It will also align the cooperation between Norway and Member States to the same structure of the cooperation currently in place between EU Member States.

According to Article 218 (6) of the TFEU the Council can only adopt the decision to conclude the agreement after the European Parliament gives its opinion.

The rapporteur welcomes the conclusion of the amendment to this bilateral agreement between the EU and Norway and agrees with the Commission that the amendment of this agreement provides for a solid legal framework for a strong cooperation between Norway and Member States.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title

Conclusion on behalf of the Union, of the amendment of the Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of claims in the field of value added tax

References

COM(2023)0736 – C9-0007/2024 – 2023/0419(NLE)

Date of consultation or request for consent

16.2.2024

Committee responsible

Date announced in plenary

ECON

5.2.2024

Rapporteurs

Date appointed

Irene Tinagli

24.1.2024

Simplified procedure - date of decision

22.2.2024

Discussed in committee

22.2.2024

Date adopted

22.2.2024

Date tabled

26.2.2024