Votes · 20 October 2026
Combating VAT fraud – the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation when it comes to VAT fraud and its impact on the EU budget
This vote is about fighting cross-border VAT fraud and its impact on the EU budget.
Background
VAT fraud, especially ‘carousel’ fraud run by networks operating across several countries, deprives Member States of revenue and also reduces the EU budget’s own resources, part of which is based on VAT. In this non-binding own-initiative report, Parliament assesses how effective cooperation between EU countries is in fighting this fraud. The text was adopted by a fairly narrow majority.
- Calls for stronger coordination between national tax administrations and EU investigative bodies to fight cross-border VAT fraud.
- Pushes for more systematic information-sharing and automatic referral of suspected cases between the authorities concerned.
- Highlights the impact of this fraud on EU budget revenue.
Adopted: 357 for, 274 against, 31 abstentions, 58 did not vote.
Reference: A10-0213/2026