European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication  on the elimination of tax obstacles to the cross-border provision of occupational pensions (COM(2001) 214 — C5-0533/2001– 2001/2212(COS))
Date: 2001-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European social policy, double taxation, free movement of workers, pension scheme, tax harmonisation, transfer of pension rights

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17. Cross-border provision of occupational pensions *

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 ( C5-0533/
2001 ( 2001/2212(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2001) 214 (cid:1) C5-0533/2001),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission proposal for a directive on the activities of institutions for occupa-
tional retirement provision (COM(2000) 507 (cid:1) C5-0596/2000 (cid:1) 2000/0260(COD)) (1) and the resol-
ution by Parliament’s position of 4 July 2001 (2),

(cid:1) 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),

(cid:1) having regard to the Green Paper on Supplementary pensions in the single market (COM(1997) 283),

(cid:1) having regard to the OECD Ageing Working Papers:
the OECD study on the policy implications of ageing,

‘Maintaining prosperity in an ageing society’:

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the Stockholm and Göteborg European Councils,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the Nice European Council,

(cid:1) having regard to the growing number of petitions to Parliament on the problem of fiscal obstacles to

cross-border occupational pension schemes;

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) 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 fiscal
obstacles to the accumulation, management and payment of occupational pensions; whereas, there-
fore, coordination with regard to the fiscal treatment of occupational pensions in the Member States is
of 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 therefore
needed on the future of pension systems in the European Union, taking as the starting point the
duty which pension systems place on society; whereas the view that difficulties in implementing
national tax provisions in the internal market by no means justifies the sealing of national markets
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 consistent
with 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.

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D. whereas the coordination of occupational pension schemes will enhance labour mobility and thus

enhance employment,

Thursday 13 December 2001

E. whereas the diversity of tax schemes in the various Member States regarding occupational pensions is
leading to cases of dual taxation which European citizens regard as an injustice and an infringement of
the fundamental rights 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 of
pension schemes, and policy with regard to taxation, are the responsibility of the Member States and
whereas the harmonisation of the fiscal treatment of pensions is very difficult to achieve through
European 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 can
contribute 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 more
tax income in future when there will be a larger group of retired people and greater demands will be
made on public funds than at present; whereas the EET system for the taxation of occupational
pensions 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 whereas
enhanced cooperation by a number of Member States in the context of the opportunities offered by
the 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 of
this; whereas, under Articles 1, 3 and 9 of Council Directive 77/799/EEC of 19 December 1977 con-
cerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the Member State in the field of direct
taxation (1), automatic exchange of
further legislative
measures,

information can be implemented without

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 and
application,

L. whereas the refusal by an EET or ETT State of tax deductibility in respect of a worker’s pension
contributions paid to a foreign pension scheme is in conflict with EU law and constitutes a serious
obstacle to cross-border worker mobility; whereas the Court of Justice of the European Communities
has ruled against such discrimination; whereas the Commission is rightly considering proceedings for
Treaty 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 the
right to impose certain requirements regarding the transfer of accumulated pension rights in order to
prevent abuse of the rules and evasion of tax,

(1) OJ L 336, 27.12.1977, p. 15.

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N. whereas the proposal for the establishment of pan-European pension funds is worthy of support, but
can only overcome administrative barriers, and does not absolve the Commission and Member States
of 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 fiscal problems to the content and structure of occupational
pension 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;

Notes that the requirement for unanimity on decisions in the field of taxation makes it hard to

2.
achieve effective legislative measures rapidly at European level;

Concurs with the Commission’s analysis that Member States sometimes act in contravention of EC
3.
law regarding participation in pension schemes in cross-border situations; calls on the Commission to
initiate proceedings as soon as possible before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on the
basis 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 occupational pensions, with a view to the elim-
ination of double taxation and double non-taxation, and with a view to the broadest possible application
of the EET principle, by devising objectives, benchmarks and reporting and evaluation procedures, in the
context of the agreements reached at the Stockholm and Göteborg European Councils on policy with
regard to the ageing of the population and the mobility of workers. This coordination could relate to:

(cid:1) the tax levying system,

(cid:1) the extent of tax levied and the possibility of agreeing on a band width regarding the level of taxation

of pension benefits,

(cid:1) the qualifying conditions for granting tax concessions,

(cid:1) mutual adjustments between Member States in respect of migrant workers,

(cid:1) transitional measures,

(cid:1) a so-called ‘European Test’ to examine changes in Member States’ rules with a cross-border impact,

Calls on the non-EET Member States to take steps as quickly as possible to introduce the EET system
5.
for occupational pensions, in order to promote convergence, reduce the opportunities for undesirable tax
behaviour, avoid double taxation and remove obstacles to freedom of movement;

Calls on Member States using the EET or ETT system not to allow the situation to reach the stage of
6.
infringement proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Communities, but to permit migrant
workers the deductability of pension contributions paid to the pension scheme which they were already
subscribed to before they emigrated, and to permit non-migrant workers the deductability of pension
contributions to pension institutions established in other Member States which are comparable in motive
and intention, taking account of the requirements imposed by Member States;

Calls on the Commission and the relevant Committee under Directive 77/799/EEC to make the pro-

7.
posal for automatic exchange of information operational as soon as possible;

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 type
made possible by the Treaty amendments of Nice, and calls on the Commission to carry out preparatory
work to investigate the possibilities to that end;

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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 occupational retirement provision, which will ensure mutual
recognition of occupational pension schemes and will significantly contribute to effective tax coordination
action;

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 pension
funds within and outside the Member States, a solution which combines the maintenance of pension rights
with greater worker mobility;

12.
Supports the proposal for pan-European pension institutions as reflected 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 Commission
to address the specific situation of frontier workers in the framework of this proposal; calls furthermore for
a 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 them
to become more aware of their rights and also the difficulties which they might encounter concerning the
tax treatment of cross-border occupational pension schemes; considers that such information should be
provided 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 special European Council in Barcelona 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;

Suggests that the Commission set up a scoreboard, adjusted regularly, to assess progress with the

15.
automatic exchange of information, assistance with collection and mutual recognition and supervision;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the govern-

16.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

18. Zimbabwe

B5-0759, 0774, 0787, 0788, 0799 and 0801/2001

European Parliament resolution on Zimbabwe

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) 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,

(cid:1) 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.