 Good afternoon and welcome to the Institute of International and European Affairs. For decades, a taxing of company profits has been a subject of policy discussion in a globalizing world. Nowhere has the debate been more intense than in the European Union. Never has the discussion of corporation tax been more focused than in recent months, as multiple steps towards a global framework for taxing companies have been taken. Against this background, it is a great pleasure to welcome to the IIEA, the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, who is one of the leading figures internationally in the drive towards the building of a new tax framework. As negotiations on international tax of the OECD and G20 gather pace, the Commissioner will set out the EU's role in reaching the global consensus on taxation policy for the 21st century. He'll also discuss the role of taxation in shaping the green and digital transitions. Commissioner Gentiloni will speak to us for about 20 minutes or so, and then we will go to a Q&A with you, our audience, and you could put your questions via the Zoom Q&A function at the bottom of your screens. Before the Commissioner addresses us, a brief introduction. Paolo Gentiloni has been European Commissioner for the economy since December 2019. Previously, he served as Italy's Premier from 2016 to 2018, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 2014 to 2016, a role in which he last addressed the institution. Among other political roles, the Commissioner was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Italy's Chamber of Deputies and Minister for Communications. Previously, he was spokesman for the Margarita Party and Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee in the 2000s. Born in Rome in 1954, he previously served as spokesperson for the Mayor of that city, as Commissioner in the City of Rome and as a professional journalist. With that, thank you again, Commissioner, for joining us. The floor is yours. Well, thank you, Dan, and I'm really pleased for your invitation. G.A. Yev Acarge, ladies and gentlemen. Indeed, the last time had the pleasure to participate to a meeting with you was five years ago in my then Capacity of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy. Since then, your institute has only grown in reputation, has an organization that champions robust and diverse debate on European matters in the Irish context, and which passionately promotes participation in the EU policymaking, in which we all have ownership. So I thank you for this important work. The debate five years ago took place just weeks after the referendum, in which a majority of voters in the UK chose to leave the EU. It now seems very long ago, and at the same time only yesterday. Countless columns of history have been written since then. I'm sure that you and your members have also followed the debate, the negotiations around the UK's decision to withdraw from the EU. Throughout this period, the European Commission had stood shoulder to shoulder with Ireland. And please be no doubt, we will continue to stand by Ireland. The EU's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement is unwavering. This is precisely why the protocol was agreed by both sides, both sides with their eyes wide open. Contrary to what is being said, the EU is not taking a legally purist stance or being inflexible. On the contrary, we have been and will continue to engage creatively to make this very difficult situation work. But the core of the protocol must be implemented in good faith. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us. But one positive consequence of the terrible pandemic we have lived through has been the realization among Europeans that the EU is uniquely well placed to deliver credible responses to the burning issues we face and capable of providing leadership to address common emergencies. The most recent Euro barometer indicates a stable and even increased support for the EU and its response to the pandemic, including in your country. The service shows that 75% have a positive image of the EU, the highest proportion of Irish people saying this since autumn 2004. While 77% agree that the interests of Ireland are well taken account in the EU, the highest proportion of any EU member states. This support will be crucial as we look towards not just a rebound, a return to normal for our economies, but for lasting sustainable growth, making Europe fit for the post-COVID world. So the EU recovery and resilience facility will be the beacon of our next steps of this journey together. This week, the Commission will begin to adopt our implementing decision and submit them to the Council and these plans offer a unique and unprecedented pan-EU opportunity to improve our social fabric and our economies in so many ways. The EU is also now being looked upon as a world leader in the mitigation of the most pressing issue of all climate change and I will speak a little bit of this later. The subject of our discussion today, the developments on global and EU taxation policy and the possibility of reaching consensus on a new modernized tax system for our globalized world. The contest for bus business taxation and taxation more broadly has changed in the past year. The pandemic has deeply affected societies and economies in Europe and global. The public health challenge turned into the most drastic economic crisis in the EU history with deep social impacts and we continue to do everything we can to fight the pandemic, but in Europe and globally we also have to look ahead at how to shape the post-pandemic world and updating our global tax system is in my view a crucial component of this. While the shadow of COVID-19 is beginning to lift from Europe's economy, its legacy will remain in the form of strained public finances and increased investment needs. Member states need stable revenues to tackle these imperatives. EU Member States are losing tens of billions each year to tax fraud, a vision and avoidance. An estimated 50 billion euros per year to cross-border VAT fraud, over 40 billion euros per year to international tax evasion by individuals and between 35 and 70 billion euros each year as a result of corporate tax avoidance in the EU. The current international taxation corporate tax system was designed more than a century ago and is based on outdated principles of tax residents and source. Developments in globalization and digitalization have left these principles increasingly out of sync with today's economy and have made tax rules increasingly difficult to apply to modern business realities. And taxation policy can also actively advance our policy priorities, behavioral or environmental taxes and effective taxation of capital income can all be part of the solution. We also have to look ahead to longer-term mega trends. Our population are aging, our labor markets are undergoing an accelerating transformation and this will only strengthen the case for shifting the burden of taxation away from labor in the future. The current EU business tax environment is not in line with the objectives of the new industrial strategy and with our ambitions for the green and digital transition. Despite progress in removing barriers to the single market in many other areas, companies doing business in the EU still need face unnecessary complexities and compliance costs created by the differences between national tax system. This can discourage cross-border investment in the single market, it hurts investment and growth as well as the EU competitiveness in comparison to other international partners. Certain loopholes and mismatches between the tax systems of the member states can leave open opportunities for aggressive tax planning, reducing the tax burden of some businesses at the expense of other taxpayers and eroding citizens' trust in the system. I believe it is time for bold action so that our tax rules fit the realities of the 21st century and this sentiment and this I think is very important to take note of is now being echoed globally. The EU and its member states together with our partners at the G20 and the OECD inclusive framework are currently negotiating rules that would overhaul the international corporate tax framework. As many of you will know, discussions are centered around two pillars, pillar one envisages the reallocation of some of the profits of the biggest multinationals worldwide towards market jurisdictions and pillar two is a minimal level of effective taxation for multinational groups. Both pillars are in line with the Commission recent flagship vision for a business taxation framework for the 21st century. Their objectives are complementary and an agreement on both is needed. The negotiations have taken a very encouraging new dynamic recent thanks to the game changer of the new US administration, the active engagement of the Biden administration and in particularly the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a big step was taken with the agreement at the G7 Finance Minister's meeting 10 days ago in London. Of course we still have much work to do to expand this consensus to the wider international community represented by the OECD G20 inclusive framework 139 countries are there. I know that some countries including Ireland remain wary of the changes under discussion but it is also my feeling that smaller open economies have a lot to gain from these changes not only to lose. Ireland is a dynamic and forward looking nation with a young skilled English speaking workforce. It enjoys a highly developed business oriented infrastructure and a growing reputation for pioneering technology and its influential position as a member of the EU single market and euro area into the mix and it becomes clear as acknowledged recently by my friend Pascal Donahue that Ireland has all the tools to sustain and even further cement its reputation and competitiveness as a gateway to Europe for international business and investment. Ladies and gentlemen the past year if the past year has taught us anything is that we can only address the extraordinary challenges of our time by coming together and try to design common solutions. So I remain confident we have before us a unique opportunity for the EU, the US and our other international partner to unite in our joint ambition for fair taxation globally and I believe we must seize this opportunity. The Commission is contributing to these ongoing multilateral discussions with the goal of facilitating an ambitious agreement at the G20 Finance Minister's meeting next month in Venice. Of course bringing these discussions to a successful conclusion will require compromises and we are well aware that the European Union is composed of 27 member states large and small and that it is the Commission's role to represent the common interest of all of them. Once a global agreement on a lasting and permanent structure for global taxation has been finalized the Commission will work to ensure its effective application in the European Union. For pillar one a future OECD agreement would be binding for OECD inclusive framework members. Such an agreement would be implemented through a multilateral convention and the Commission is considering proposing forward a directive to ensure its uniform implementation in all EU member states. A future OECD agreement on pillar two might not take the shape of a multilateral convention and it is therefore important that all EU member states transpose pillar two within the EU in a uniform way. We would therefore propose legislation to implement a consensus based global agreement on pillar two. This would also require amending some existing EU directives for example the anti-tax avoidance directive. To complement the international work screen we recently presented a plan for a new framework for business taxation in the EU which would reduce administrative burdens remove tax obstacles and foster a more business friendly environment in the single market. Our flagship action will be a name major new framework on income taxation that we have christened befit business in Europe framework for income taxation. It will build on the global discussions it will cut red tape reduce compliance costs minimize tax avoidance opportunities and support EU jobs and investments. It will also provide for fair allocation of taxing rights between member states and form a corporate tax framework that is suitable for the EU single market. I have already mentioned the fact that an aging population will reduce labor taxation revenues in our member states. We will need to examine how our tax mix should evolve on the coming decades taking into account the need to safeguard tax revenues enable sustainable growth and ensure fairness between different taxpayers and between generations. This is not something we can do in a piecemeal way not at EU level alone. It requires a wider reflections on the overall tax mix involving member states and tax holders and stakeholders. The commission will soon launch such a reflection culminating in a EU tax mix on the road to 2050 symposium next year. Lastly a word on our climate ambitions and the role of taxation policy in the green transition. The green deal is a cornerstone of the Europe's recovery strategy. It not only commits at supplement neutrality by 2050 it also clearly sets out how to get there. The coming decade will be crucial in this strategy and this is why in a few weeks next month we will propose a comprehensive package fit for 55 to deliver the necessary 55% emission reduction by 2030 to put us on track for our 2050 neutrality goal. This package will be built mainly around the reform and strengthen EU emission trading system. Closely linked to this reform the commission will table proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism and for the revision of the energy taxation directive. First on the carbon border adjustment mechanism. It is an environmental policy tool that will ensure the effectiveness of our own internal EU climate change mitigation policies by reducing the risk of carbon leakage that is shifting production from inside the EU to jurisdictions with less exacting environment standards. It will ensure that imports face the same ambitious carbon price signal faced by our domestic production. It will also indirectly incentivize non-EU exporters to turn to cleaner production and convince countries to show comparable ambition to the EU when it comes to the greening of their economies. But the fight against climate change and environment degradation require us to activate all other instruments at our disposal. And so the energy tax directive as it stands is completely outdated and has lost its purpose. It was developed in the 90s and is in place since 2003 and a lot has changed in them. Our green ambition has moved from the fringes to the very center of our policy agenda. The current directive de facto subsidized fossil fuels over renewables. Its minimum tax rates have not been adjusted to inflation thus are too low to serve any environmental or revenue raising purpose. The objective of the revision of the directive is on the one hand to remove such subsidies to fossil fuels and on the other hand it will aim to promote greenhouse gas emission reductions through energy efficiency and a higher uptake of less polluting alternative fuels. In particular the current approach of taxing fuels according to volume and not according to their energy content discriminates against renewable fuels in favor of conventional fossil fuels and the revision will make energy content the basis of taxation. Let me be clear the 2050 target is set and we will reach it. The question is which instruments we will use to get there. In my view green taxation needs to play a central role and this goes beyond energy taxation. As long as those who waste resources or pollute the environment can do it without immediate consequences they will continue to do so at the expense of the rest of humankind and of the biosphere as a whole. But we cannot simply forbid this behavior. Green taxes can get this right in an efficient way. With green taxes it is possible to set a price for these social costs and therefore encourage behavioral changes by companies and citizens that support environmental sustainability. And this is why we have also used the process of negotiating the recovery and resilience plans to encourage and support member states to embark on green tax reforms. And beyond that we are reviewing the current VAT rules on passenger transport in order to align them with the ambitions of the Green Deal. In conclusion ladies and gentlemen this is a huge program and of course it needs a large consensus in member states and in the public opinion. So now thank you for your time, for your attention.