MEPs want answers on Luxembourg leaks this WEEK

BRUSSELS - Leaked tax evasion schemes for multinational corporations in Luxembourg loom large as the new European Commission enters its second week in office.

EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker i, who was Luxembourg’s prime minister and finance minister when the schemes were set up, has yet to speak out but leading MEPs are demanding a public explanation at the mini-plenary session this week.

A formal invitation from the European Parliament is needed but has yet to be sent.

A EU source close to the issue said it is too soon to decide because while some political groups, like the socialist and liberals have spoken out, others have not.

“There are political groups who until now remain more or less silent, so we don’t know, if it will be possible to include this point or this issue in the plenary,” said the contact.

It is also unclear who might show up, if anyone. Contenders include Juncker himself, his right-hand man Frans Timmermans i, or possibly EU competition commissioner Vestager.

“This is in the hands of the political groups,” added the contact.

Timmermans, for his part, already has two separate and unrelated meetings lined up on Wednesday. One is with the Council of Europe secretary general and another with the president of the Conference of European Rabbis.

As for Juncker, his official schedule appears to be free on Wednesday and he is set to leave Brussels at the end of the week when he travels to Australia, along with EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici i, to attend the G20 i summit over the weekend. Tax avoidance and evasion are on the G20 agenda.

The mini-plenary starts Wednesday afternoon and will see the Court of Auditors i present its 2013 annual report. MEPs are also set to debate a resolution on the recent manoeuvres by Turkey off the coast of Cyprus, which has derailed reunification talks.

The plenary continues Thursday morning with MEPs debating a political and economic pact with Moldova, followed by a vote. MEPs will also vote on the Turkey-Cyprus resolution.

On Tuesday, MEPs in the civil liberties committee will discuss setting up a possible EU-wide passenger name records (PNR) agreement. The issue is heating up as the UK recently threatened to ban German airlines from landing if Germany continues to refuse to hand over the personal details of passengers (suh as credit card information and home addresses).

Meanwhile, the European Commission on Wednesday is to send top envoys to Ebola-effected countries in West Africa.

Ebola response coordinator, Christos Stylianides i, along with EU health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis i, will first visit Sierra Leone, followed by Liberia and then Guinea Conakry.

It is also a busy week for EU ministers.

On Monday, agricultural and fishery ministers are expected to reach a political agreement on allowable catches on deep-sea fish stocks.

Economic and finance ministers, for their part, finish out the week on Friday when they meet to prepare tough negotiations with the European Parliament on the 2015 EU budget.

Member states want budget reduction cuts while MEPs want a budget increase.