European Parliament legislative resolution of 26 November 2019 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax and Directive 2008/118/EC concerning the general arrangements for excise duty as regards defence effort within the Union framework (COM(2019)0192 — C9-0003/2019 — 2019/0096(CNS))
Date: 2019-11-26
Institutions: Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU Member State, EU-NATO cooperation, Eurogroup (NATO), European defence policy, VAT, armed forces, excise duty, goods and services, import (EU), tax exemption








C_2021232EN.01007101.xml










16.6.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 232/71






P9_TA(2019)0060
Amending VAT and excise duty rules as regards defence effort within the Union framework*
European Parliament legislative resolution of 26 November 2019 on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax and Directive 2008/118/EC concerning the general arrangements for excise duty as regards defence effort within the Union framework (COM(2019)0192 — C9-0003/2019 — 2019/0096(CNS))
(Special legislative procedure — consultation)
(2021/C 232/15)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2019)0192),










—


having regard to Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C9-0003/2019),










—


having regard to Rule 82 of its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A9-0034/2019),












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 directive


Recital 4








Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment











(4)


Defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP covers military missions 
and operations
, activities of battlegroups, mutual assistance, permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) projects 
and
 activities of the European Defence Agency (EDA). It should however not cover activities under the solidarity clause established in Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other bilateral or multilateral activities between Member States that do not relate to defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP.












(4)


Defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP covers military missions, activities of battlegroups 
and of other multinational formations or structures established by Member States operating within the framework of CSDP
, mutual assistance, permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) projects, activities of the European Defence Agency (EDA) 
and activities aiming at the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy
. It should however not cover activities under the solidarity clause established in Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other bilateral or multilateral activities between Member States that do not relate to defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP. 
The Commission should keep a record of any defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP in respect of which exemptions apply.











Amendment 2


Proposal for a directive


Recital 8








Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment











(8)


Similarly to the exemption for NATO defence effort, the 
exemption
 for the defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP should be limited in scope. 
Only expenses incurred in respect of
 tasks directly linked to a defence effort 
should be eligible for exemption
. Tasks performed exclusively by civilian staff or performed exclusively by using civilian capabilities should not be 
covered by the exemption
. Nor should the 
exemption
 cover 
items such as spare parts to military equipment or transport
 services that the armed forces 
of a Member State
 acquire for use within 
that
 Member State 
or extend to the construction of transport or communication and information systems infrastructures
.












(8)


Similarly to the exemption 
from VAT and excise duty
 for NATO defence effort, the 
exemptions
 for the defence effort carried out for the implementation of a Union activity under the CSDP should be limited in scope. 
The exemptions should apply only to situations where armed forces carry out
 tasks directly linked to a defence effort 
under the CSDP. Those exemptions should not cover civilian missions under the CSDP. Goods or services supplied for the use of civilian staff could therefore only be covered by the exemptions when the civilian staff is accompanying armed forces carrying out tasks directly linked to a defence effort under the CSDP outside their Member State
. Tasks performed exclusively by civilian staff or performed exclusively by using civilian capabilities should not be 
considered to be a defence effort
. Nor should the 
exemptions in any circumstance
 cover 
goods or
 services that the armed forces acquire for 
the
 use 
of the forces or the civilian staff accompanying them
 within 
their own
 Member State.