17.Cross-borderprovisionofoccupationalpensions*
A5-0388/2001
European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on the elimination of tax
obstacles to the cross-border provision of occupational pensions (COM(2001)214 Bdash C5-0533/
2001Bdash2001/2212(COS))
The European Parliament,
kdash having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2001) 214 kdash C5-0533/2001),kdash having regard to the Commission proposalfor a directive on the activities of institutions for occupa-
tionalretirement provision (COM(2000) 507 kdash C5-0596/2000 kdash 2000/0260(COD)) (
1) and the resol-
ution by Parliament’s position of 4 July 2001 (2),
kdash having regard to the Commission communication on the future evolution of social protection from a
long-term point of view: safe and sustainable pensions (COM(2000) 622),
kdash having regard to the Green Paper on Supplementary pensions in the single market (COM(1997) 283),kdash having regard to the OECD Ageing Working Papers: ‘Maintaining prosperity in an ageing society’:
the OECD study on the policy implications of ageing,
kdash having regard to the conclusions of the Stockholm and Göteborg European Councils,
kdash having regard to the conclusions of the Nice European Council,kdash having regard to the growing number of petitions to Parliament on the problem of fiscal obstacles to
cross-border occupationalpension schemes;
kdash having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,kdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinions of
the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Petitions (A5-0388/2001),
A. whereas proper provision for old-age pensions is essential for the well-being and prosperity of the
people of the Member States; whereas occupational pension schemes will play an increasingly import-ant role to that end, whereas the cross-border mobility of workers must not be hindered by fiscalobstacles to the accumulation, management and payment of occupational pensions; whereas, there-fore, coordination with regard to the fiscaltreatment of occupationalpensions in the Member States isof the greatest importance,
B. whereas the debate on the future of pensions in the European Union cannot be confined to a dis-
cussion on financeability and transferability of rights acquired; whereas a broad debate is thereforeneeded on the future of pension systems in the European Union, taking as the starting point theduty which pension systems place on society; whereas the view that difficulties in implementingnationaltax provisions in the internalmarket by no means justifies the seal ing of nationalmarkets
in occupational pension schemes; whereas compliance with national fiscal rules to which Member
States rightly attach great importance should, in the case of cross-border pensions, be made consistentwith the opening of the market regarding the second pillar,
C. whereas the coordination of the taxation of occupational pensions will also lead to greater comparison
of pension systems in general,
(1) OJ C 96 E, 17.3.2001, p. 136.
(2) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 8.C 177 E/302 EN 25.7.2002 OfficialJournalof the European Communities
Thursday13December2001
D. whereas the coordination of occupational pension schemes will enhance labour mobility and thus
enhance employment,
E. whereas the diversity of tax schemes in the various Member States regarding occupationalpensions is
leading to cases of dual taxation which European citizens regard as an injustice and an infringement ofthe fundamentalrights and freedoms recognised by the Union,
F. whereas work on the broad guidelines of economic policy means that pensions systems are playing an
ever greater role in terms of their effect on national budgets; whereas the content, quality and form ofpension schemes, and policy with regard to taxation, are the responsibility of the Member States andwhereas the harmonisation of the fiscaltreatment of pensions is very difficul t to achieve throughEuropean legislation in view of the requirement for unanimity on decisions regarding tax legislation;whereas an effective and transparent coordination process must therefore be developed which cancontribute to the elimination of tax obstacles and improve coordination,
G. whereas the granting of tax incentives by exempting pension contributions from tax will stimulate the
accumulation of occupational pensions; whereas the taxation of pension payments will generate moretax income in future when there will be a larger group of retired people and greater demands will bemade on public funds than at present; whereas the EET system for the taxation of occupationalpensions is already used by most Member States,
H. whereas bilateral or multilateral treaties for the levying and collection of taxes, as proposed by the
Commission and encouraged by the OECD, are an important means to that end, but whereasenhanced cooperation by a number of Member States in the context of the opportunities offered bythe Treaty amendments of Nice could provide greater clarity and transparency,
I. whereas tax treatment of pensions also may have wide-ranging effects on other areas of law (social
security, labour, contract and financial supervision law, enforceability of administrative and judicial
orders); whereas the unrestricted deductibility of payments for all workers made to foreign pension
funds would be tantamount to the unconditional recognition of foreign legal provisions in the above-mentioned fields, such issues should also be involved in the process of open coordination,
J. whereas the automatic and full exchange of the information necessary for the levying of taxes is in the
interest of all Member States, and whereas mutual assistance in tax collection is a logical corollary ofthis; whereas, under Articles 1, 3 and 9 of Council Directive 77/799/EEC of 19 December 1977 con-cerning mutualassistance by the competent authorities of the Member State in the fiel d of directtaxation (
1), automatic exchange of information can be implemented without further legislative
measures,
K. whereas Member States must allow migrant workers to continue with an existing pension scheme, in
accordance with the rules of European law and the Commission’s analysis of their interpretation andapplication,
L. whereas the refusalby an EET or ETT State of tax deductibil ity in respect of a worker’s pension
contributions paid to a foreign pension scheme is in conflict with EU law and constitutes a seriousobstacle to cross-border worker mobility; whereas the Court of Justice of the European Communitieshas ruled against such discrimination; whereas the Commission is rightly considering proceedings forTreaty infringement,
M. whereas the transfer of accumulated pension rights with the aim of continuing to accumulate the best
possible pension for a migrant worker in his country of establishment may not be hindered by dis-proportionate tax obstacles in the Member States; whereas at the same time Member States have theright to impose certain requirements regarding the transfer of accumulated pension rights in order toprevent abuse of the rules and evasion of tax,
(1) OJ L 336, 27.12.1977, p. 15.25.7.2002 EN C 177 E/303 OfficialJournalof the European Communities
Thursday13December2001
N. whereas the proposalfor the establ ishment of pan-European pension funds is worthy of support, but
can only overcome administrative barriers, and does not absolve the Commission and Member Statesof the duty of tackling the substantive problems too,
O. whereas an intensive dialogue with the social partners and other operators in the pensions field is
necessary in view of the importance of fiscalprobl ems to the content and structure of occupationalpension schemes for which they are responsible and which they manage,
1. Welcomes the Commission communication as a first step towards an internal market free of tax
obstacles to the accumulation, management and payment of occupational pensions;
2. Notes that the requirement for unanimity on decisions in the field of taxation makes it hard to
achieve effective legislative measures rapidly at European level;
3. Concurs with the Commission’s analysis that Member States sometimes act in contravention of EC
law regarding participation in pension schemes in cross-border situations; calls on the Commission toinitiate proceedings as soon as possible before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on thebasis of Article 226 of the EC Treaty in response to every case of tax discrimination regarding cross-border
pension entitlements, and in the mean time to prepare other measures, including legislation, if it notes that
insufficient progress has been made;
4. Urges the Commission and Member States to develop, in cooperation with the European Parliament,
a process of open coordination regarding the taxation of occupationalpensions, with a view to the el im-ination of double taxation and double non-taxation, and with a view to the broadest possible applicationof the EET principle, by devising objectives, benchmarks and reporting and evaluation procedures, in thecontext of the agreements reached at the Stockholm and Göteborg European Councils on policy withregard to the ageing of the population and the mobility of workers. This coordination could relate to:
kdash the tax levying system,kdash the extent of tax levied and the possibility of agreeing on a band width regarding the level of taxation
of pension benefits,
kdash the qualifying conditions for granting tax concessions,
kdash mutualadjustments between Member States in respect of migrant workers,
kdash transitionalmeasures,kdash a so-called ‘European Test’ to examine changes in Member States’ rules with a cross-border impact,
5. Calls on the non-EET Member States to take steps as quickly as possible to introduce the EET system
for occupationalpensions, in order to promote convergence, reduce the opportunities for undesirabl e taxbehaviour, avoid double taxation and remove obstacles to freedom of movement;
6. Calls on Member States using the EET or ETT system not to allow the situation to reach the stage of
infringement proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Communities, but to permit migrantworkers the deductability of pension contributions paid to the pension scheme which they were alreadysubscribed to before they emigrated, and to permit non-migrant workers the deductability of pensioncontributions to pension institutions established in other Member States which are comparable in motiveand intention, taking account of the requirements imposed by Member States;
7. Calls on the Commission and the relevant Committee under Directive 77/799/EEC to make the pro-
posalfor automatic exchange of information operationalas soon as possibl e;
8. Calls on the Member States to consider, alongside bilateral and multilateral agreements for the avoid-
ance of the double taxation and non-taxation of pensions, a process of enhanced cooperation of the typemade possible by the Treaty amendments of Nice, and calls on the Commission to carry out preparatorywork to investigate the possibilities to that end;C 177 E/304 EN 25.7.2002 OfficialJournalof the European Communities
Thursday13December2001
9. Strongly urges the Council and the Member States to make rapid progress with the proposal for a
directive on the activities of institutions for occupationalretirement provision, which wil lensure mutualrecognition of occupational pension schemes and will significantly contribute to effective tax coordinationaction;
10. Calls on the Member States to make progress in assessing the possibilities for co-ordination of their
tax policy in respect of occupational pension provision while continuing to respect the Member States’specific conditions for the granting of tax concessions for non-migrant workers;
11. Calls on the Commission, together with the Member States and the Pension Forum, to find an
adequate solution to the tax obstacles hindering the transfer of accumulated pension rights to pensionfunds within and outside the Member States, a solution which combines the maintenance of pension rightswith greater worker mobility;
12. Supports the proposalfor pan-European pension institutions as refl ected in the Commission’s com-
munication; calls on firms wishing to set up pan-European pension funds to launch initiatives to that end;calls on the Member States to facilitate and encourage this in other firms and sectors; asks the Commissionto address the specific situation of frontier workers in the framework of this proposal; calls furthermore fora statute for a pension fund to be set up for migrant and frontier workers;
13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to grant migrant and frontier workers easier access
to information on the benefits and the drawbacks of cross-border pension schemes, so as to enable themto become more aware of their rights and also the difficulties which they might encounter concerning thetax treatment of cross-border occupationalpension schemes; considers that such information shoul d beprovided inter alia within the framework of EURES; calls for the EURES network to be strengthened to
enable those tasks to be carried out more effectively;
14. Urges the Commission to submit to the specialEuropean Councilin Barcel ona next spring an
action plan for the coordination of taxation on pensions, as a follow-up to the plans which are to be
prepared at the Laeken European Council;
15. Suggests that the Commission set up a scoreboard, adjusted regularly, to assess progress with the
automatic exchange of information, assistance with collection and mutual recognition and supervision;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the govern-
ments and parliaments of the Member States.
18.Zimbabwe
B5-0759,0774,0787,0788,0799and0801/2001
EuropeanParliamentresolutiononZimbabwe
The European Parliament,
kdash having regard to its resolutions of 13 April 2000 (1), 18 May 2000 (2), 6 July 2000 (3), 15 March
2001 (4) and 6 September 2001 (5) on the situation in Zimbabwe,
kdash having regard to the Agreement reached in Abuja on 6 September 2001 between the Committee of
Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, including a number of African States, and the Zimbabwean Gov-ernment to return Zimbabwe to the rule of law and end all illegal occupations of farmland,
(1) OJ C 40, 7.2.2001, p. 425.
(2) OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 241.
(3) OJ C 121, 24.4.2001, p. 394.
(4) OJ C 343, 5.12.2001, p. 304.
(5) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 13.25.7.2002 EN C 177 E/305 OfficialJournalof the European Communities
Thursday13December2001