18 09 12 Oxfam-Eurodad welcome MEPs' vote on EU reporting rules for extractive industries
International development agency Oxfam and the European Network on Debt
and Development (Eurodad) welcome the MEPs' ambitious proposal on this
legislation, which would not only fight against corruption in the
extractive or forestry sectors but also in others like banking,
telecommunications and construction. MEPs also sent a clear signal that
in three years, they want to review the EU Accounting Directive to boost
transparency which could help both developing countries and EU member
states to combat tax evasion and avoidance.
Catherine Olier, Oxfam's EU overseas development expert, said:
"Today's vote represents a real step forward in the fight against
corruption and the resource curse in developing countries. MEPs have set
a bold example by adopting a position that will champion the rights of
the resource-rich poor by giving them project-specific information that
will help them hold their governments to account. In doing this,
citizens can ensure that governments collect the money owed and use it
to lift them out of poverty.
"MEPs have shown that they are serious about increasing transparency in
all sectors by proposing to extend the legislation to the banking,
construction and telecommunication industries. This boost in
transparency is desperately needed to ensure that citizens of poor
countries can finally start to benefit from the resources that have
cursed them for so long."
Javier Pereira, Policy Officer at Eurodad, said:
"Despite today's promising progress, there is still a long way to go to
ensure that this legislation effectively combats issues of corruption
that keep people in developing countries in a cycle of poverty. Tax
dodging is not easily defeated, so companies should be required to
report additional information like sales volumes, assets and profits to
put their payments into context. EU governments must now raise the bar
by adopting a strong proposal, which should be at least in line with the
recently implemented US rules."
Contact
* Oxfam<http://www.oxfam.org/
* Eurodad<http://www.eurodad.or
Notes to Editors
In 2008 Africa's oil, gas and minerals exports were worth roughly 9
times the value of international aid to the continent ($393 billion vs
$44 billion). And yet many countries have failed to turn natural
resource wealth into lasting benefits.
* $300bn – $400bn: this is the amount of money from oil
extraction that has been stolen or wasted over the last 50 years in
Nigeria, according to Nigeria's corruption agency.
* $86,000: this is all that the Democratic Republic of Congo's
treasury received from mineral rights in 2006, despite an estimated $1
bn of mineral exports each year.
* Only half of the mining companies paid corporate tax in Zambia in 2008
Source: Eurodad report "Exposing the lost billions<http://eurodad.org/47
Examples of how 'country by country' reporting would help address tax dodging:
* Swiss mining company Glencore operating in Zambia (Mopani Copper Mine), page 29
* UK brewery SABMiller, operating in Ghana, page 31
Oxfam welcomed<http://www.oxfamameri
the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for finally publishing
transparency rules, under the Dodd-Frank Act, a few weeks ago. These
rules will provide important information to investors and citizens and
help stem corruption in resource-rich countries. Citizens will be able
to use this information to hold their governments accountable. The new
US law requires over 1,100 oil, gas and mining companies – including
many European-based companies such as Shell, BP and Total – to report
how much they are paying not only at the country level but for specific
local projects.