Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

The European Commission proposal seeks to address the challenge of combating intra-Community VAT fraud, by establishing direct and streamlined channels of communication between Eurofisc and both the EPPO and OLAF, as well as, by granting them specific, direct and centralised access to relevant VAT information within the scope of their respective mandates. Such cooperations aims to strengthen the fight against fraud, without prejudice to the existing rights of access provided for under the EPPO and OLAF Regulations. The European Commission proposal responds to a long-standing request expressed by the European Parliament, notably in its resolution of 22 November 2023 on strengthening administrative cooperation in the field of VAT to combat fraud.

The European Parliament, in its position adopted on 22 November 2023, explicitly called for reinforced operational cooperation between Eurofisc, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), including more efficient and structured information exchanges, with a view to better detecting, investigating and prosecuting cross-border VAT fraud. The Commission proposal therefore gives concrete legislative effect to that political call by providing a clear legal framework for structured access to and exchange of VAT-related data at Union level.

In this context, the Rapporteur's proposed amendments focus in particular on data protection considerations. In line with the recommendations of the EDPS, we introduce specific safeguards to ensure full compliance with the principles of purpose limitation and data minimisation.

More specifically, the amendments clarify the categories of data that may be accessed and ensure that such access is strictly limited to what is necessary for the performance of EPPO’s and OLAF’s respective mandates. They introduce clear safeguards preventing untargeted searches and require that each access be linked to a specific investigation or prosecution and to an identified authorised user. These measures ensure that access to VAT information remains proportionate, targeted and fully compliant with data protection principles.

Furthermore, adequate financial resources should be made available to the EPPO and OLAF to support the necessary infrastructure and technical tools required to guarantee such secure and effective access to VAT information. Strengthening operational capacities must therefore accompany the reinforced legal framework to ensure both effectiveness in combating VAT fraud and full compliance with data protection requirements.