Answer given by Ms Vestager on behalf of the Commission

21.4.2016

The Commission previously (E-014853/2015[1]) confirmed that the Task Force on Tax Planning Practices was established in 2013 and, depending on the workload, employs between 15 and 25 officials. The Commission has the flexibility to re-allocate resources internally and the necessary expertise to take decisions that meet the the highest standards of legal and economic analysis. Of course, as is the case for all authorities, some prioritisation is necessary.

The Commission's state aid investigations into aggressive tax planning do not selectively target US companies. EU competition rules, including state aid rules, apply to all companies operating in the EU's single market, large or small, irrespective of whether they are EU companies or originate from outside the EU. There is no bias against US companies. The two final decisions the Commission adopted in October 2015 concerned a US company (Starbucks) and a European company (Fiat). In January 2016 the Commission adopted a decision concerning a Belgian scheme, covering 35 companies, the large majority of them European.

• [1] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/parliamentary-questions.html