Mr President, how can there be any credible and efficient commercial policy, industrial policy or competition policy if the Council and the Commission continue to overlook the race to the bottom in terms of taxation amongst Member States - if they continue to overlook the scandal of tax evasion?

Recently the US Senate issued a report and conducted hearings showing that Swiss banks are heavily involved in tax fraud exercises for American taxpayers. The same is happening to European taxpayers while, at the same time as they are demanding terrible taxes from the middle classes and the poor in countries like mine, Portugal, the rich and the super-rich are taking advantage of this system. That is absolutely untenable. So what are the Council and the Commission doing to put an end to this?