Sittings · Document
On the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards the access of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to value added tax information at Union level
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Michalis Hadjipantela
PR_CNS_LegAct_am
Symbols for procedures
* Consultation procedure
*** Consent procedure
***I Ordinary legislative procedure (first reading)
***II Ordinary legislative procedure (second reading)
***III Ordinary legislative procedure (third reading)
(The type of procedure depends on the legal basis proposed by the draft act.)
Amendments to a draft act
Amendments by Parliament set out in two columns
Deletions are indicated in bold italics in the left-hand column. Replacements are indicated in bold italics in both columns. New text is indicated in bold italics in the right-hand column.
The first and second lines of the header of each amendment identify the relevant part of the draft act under consideration. If an amendment pertains to an existing act that the draft act is seeking to amend, the amendment heading includes a third line identifying the existing act and a fourth line identifying the provision in that act that Parliament wishes to amend.
Amendments by Parliament in the form of a consolidated text
New text is highlighted in bold italics. Deletions are indicated using either the ▌symbol or strikeout. Replacements are indicated by highlighting the new text in bold italics and by deleting or striking out the text that has been replaced.
By way of exception, purely technical changes made by the drafting departments in preparing the final text are not highlighted.
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards the access of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to value added tax information at Union level
(COM(2025)0685 – C100298/2025 – 2025/0348(CNS))
(Special legislative procedure – consultation)
– having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2025)0685),
– having regard to Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C100298/2025),
– having regard to Rule 84 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A100000/2026),
1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;
2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;
4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;
5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(4) The Member States not participating in the EPPO are obliged, under the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, to support the activities of the EPPO and to refrain from any action that could jeopardise the attainment of its objectives. Eurofisc is composed of both Member States participating and not participating in the EPPO. Therefore, it is important to have a clear legal basis for the EPPO access to information processed by Eurofisc.
(4) The Member States not participating in the EPPO are obliged, under the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, to support the activities of the EPPO and to refrain from any action that could jeopardise the attainment of its objectives. Eurofisc is composed of both Member States participating and not participating in the EPPO. Therefore, it is important to have a clear legal basis for the EPPO access to information processed by Eurofisc. Moreover, the EPPO should be allowed to access such information for criminal law enforcement purposes only.
Or. en
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(5) The European Court of Auditors has recommended that the Commission and the Member States remove legal obstacles preventing the exchange of information between administrative, judicial and law enforcement authorities at national and Union level and in particular that OLAF has access to the VAT information exchange system (VIES) and Eurofisc data6 . In that respect it is important that a central access to EU IT systems is set out in a clear legal basis.
(5) The European Court of Auditors has recommended that the Commission and the Member States remove legal obstacles preventing the exchange of information between administrative, judicial and law enforcement authorities at national and Union level and in particular that OLAF has access to the VAT information exchange system (VIES) and Eurofisc data6. In that respect it is important that a central access to EU IT systems, which respects the principles of necessity and proportionality, is set out in a clear legal basis.
__________________
__________________
6 European Court of Auditors Special Report No 24/2015, Tackling intra-Community VAT fraud: More action needed (https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR15_24).
6 European Court of Auditors Special Report No 24/2015, Tackling intra-Community VAT fraud: More action needed (https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR15_24).
Or. en
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(10a) The EPPO’s and OLAF’s access to the VIES, the Surveillance System and the CESOP as well as to any other systems and databases should be limited to the following main data categories: information on VAT identification numbers and VAT intra-Community transactions, relevant information on VAT-exempt importations related to the Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) and customs procedure 42/63 importations and aggregated payment information. Such access should only be granted to EPPO and OLAF for the purpose of carrying out their duties under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. Powers should be conferred on the Commission to adopt implementing acts specifying the exact data categories available to the EPPO and OLAF for the purposes of exercising their duties under those articles.
Or. en
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(11) As the systems, infrastructure and technical means facilitating the exchange of VAT information at Union level need to be adapted to allow secure access of EPPO and OLAF, it is necessary to defer the application of the relevant provisions in order to allow the Member States, the Commission, the EPPO and OLAF to carry out the necessary adaptations. This should consider the dates when the central VIES will become operational and the legacy VIES will be phased out. The EPPO and OLAF should be responsible for the costs of establishing and maintaining the relevant infrastructure and technical means for secure access to VAT information.
(11) As the systems, infrastructure and technical means facilitating the exchange of VAT information at Union level need to be adapted to allow secure access of EPPO and OLAF, it is necessary to defer the application of the relevant provisions in order to allow the Member States, the Commission, the EPPO and OLAF to carry out the necessary adaptations. This should consider the dates when the central VIES will become operational and the legacy VIES will be phased out. In order to ensure the effective implementation of this Regulation, adequate financial resources should be made available to the EPPO and OLAF, in particular for maintaining the relevant infrastructure and technical means for secure access to VAT information.
Or. en
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 36 – paragraph 2 a
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2a. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to the EPPO, in accordance with Article 24(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939* as regards the Member States participating in the EPPO and in accordance with this Article as regards the other Member States, without undue delay any indication of suspected cross-border VAT fraud based on information communicated or collected pursuant to this Regulation in respect of which the EPPO could exercise its competence.
2a. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to the EPPO, in accordance with Article 24(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939* as regards the Member States participating in the EPPO and in accordance with this Article as regards the other Member States, without undue delay any indication of suspected cross-border VAT fraud based on information communicated or collected pursuant to this Regulation in respect of which the EPPO could exercise its competence. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to the EPPO only the information strictly necessary to enable the EPPO to assess whether or not to exercise its competence.
Or. en
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 36 – paragraph 2 c
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2c. In accordance with Article 8, (2) and (3), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council** Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to OLAF without delay any indication of suspected cross-border VAT fraud based on information from Member States communicated or collected pursuant to this Regulation to enable OLAF to consider appropriate action in accordance with its mandate.
2c. In accordance with Article 8, (2) and (3), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council** Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to OLAF without delay any indication of suspected cross-border VAT fraud based on information from Member States communicated or collected pursuant to this Regulation to enable OLAF to consider appropriate action in accordance with its mandate. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall communicate to OLAF only the information strictly necessary to enable OLAF to assess whether or not to exercise its mandate.
Or. en
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49a – paragraph 2 a (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2a. The centralised access referred to in paragraph 1 shall be limited to what is strictly necessary for the purpose of investigating suspected criminal offences or prosecuting perpetrators of such criminal offences, as referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, and shall be designed and used in such a way as to prevent untargeted searches or access not linked to a concrete case.
Or. en
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49a – paragraph 2 b (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2b. The centralised access referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to appropriate technical and organisational measures ensuring that each access is attributable to a specific investigation or prosecution and to an identified authorised user. Such access shall be logged in a manner allowing effective ex-post verification.
Or. en
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49a – paragraph 5
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
5. The costs of establishing, operating and maintaining the infrastructure and technical means allowing the secure access to the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be borne by the EPPO.
deleted
Or. en
Amendment 10
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49b – paragraph 2 a (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2a. The centralised access referred to in paragraph 1 shall be limited to what is strictly necessary for the purpose of opening or carrying out specific investigations in accordance with OLAF’s tasks as referred to in Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, and shall be designed and used in such a way as to prevent untargeted searches or access not linked to a concrete case.
Or. en
Amendment 11
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49b – paragraph 2 b (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2b. The centralised access referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to appropriate technical and organisational measures ensuring that each access is attributable to a specific investigation and to an identified authorised user. Such access shall be logged in a manner allowing effective ex-post verification.
Or. en
Amendment 12
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 49b – paragraph 5
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
5. The costs of establishing, operating and maintaining the infrastructure and technical means allowing the secure access to the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be borne by OLAF.
deleted
Or. en
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The European Commission proposal seeks to address the challenge of combating intra-Community VAT fraud, by establishing direct and streamlined channels of communication between Eurofisc and both the EPPO and OLAF, as well as, by granting them specific, direct and centralised access to relevant VAT information within the scope of their respective mandates. Such cooperations aims to strengthen the fight against fraud, without prejudice to the existing rights of access provided for under the EPPO and OLAF Regulations. The European Commission proposal responds to a long-standing request expressed by the European Parliament, notably in its resolution of 22 November 2023 on strengthening administrative cooperation in the field of VAT to combat fraud.
The European Parliament, in its position adopted on 22 November 2023, explicitly called for reinforced operational cooperation between Eurofisc, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), including more efficient and structured information exchanges, with a view to better detecting, investigating and prosecuting cross-border VAT fraud. The Commission proposal therefore gives concrete legislative effect to that political call by providing a clear legal framework for structured access to and exchange of VAT-related data at Union level.
In this context, the Rapporteur's proposed amendments focus in particular on data protection considerations. In line with the recommendations of the EDPS, we introduce specific safeguards to ensure full compliance with the principles of purpose limitation and data minimisation.
More specifically, the amendments clarify the categories of data that may be accessed and ensure that such access is strictly limited to what is necessary for the performance of EPPO’s and OLAF’s respective mandates. They introduce clear safeguards preventing untargeted searches and require that each access be linked to a specific investigation or prosecution and to an identified authorised user. These measures ensure that access to VAT information remains proportionate, targeted and fully compliant with data protection principles.
Furthermore, adequate financial resources should be made available to the EPPO and OLAF to support the necessary infrastructure and technical tools required to guarantee such secure and effective access to VAT information. Strengthening operational capacities must therefore accompany the reinforced legal framework to ensure both effectiveness in combating VAT fraud and full compliance with data protection requirements.
ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT
The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.