EU leaders to discuss tax evasion in May summit

The President of the European Union, Hrman Van Rompuy, said Friday that he has decided to put the issue of tax evasion on the agenda of the next summit meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on 22nd of May. "Every year one trillion euro is lost in EU member states because of tax evasion. To give you an idea, one trillion Euros is about the same as the entire GDP or total income of Spain, the fifth biggest economy in the European Union," he said in a video message. Tax evasion, he noted, is unfair to citizens who work hard and pay their taxes and added that the current economic crisis demands a fair and effective tax system in the EU. "That's why I have decided to put it on the agenda of our next meeting of the European Council (EU summit) on the 22nd of May. We must seize the increased political momentum to address this crucial problem," he declared.