Nick Shaxson ■ Tweet of the day: Jean-Claude Juncker needs to go
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our tweet of the day comes from the Bloomberg View editors. It’s a striking view, coming just a few days after his inauguration as president of the European Commission.
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Hi TJN, what’s your view on this blog from Jean Quatremer (EU correspondant for French newspaper Liberation) which in essence says that all European leaders more or less try to do the same as what Juncker did at the helm of Luxembourg? (http://bruxelles.blogs.liberation.fr/coulisses/2014/11/luxleaks-le-bal-des-hypocrites.html)
There’s some truth to it but this argument is typically used to defend the indefensible. Yes, the UK, netherlands and many other european countries are hypocrites – whether offering corporate tax dodges or secrecy or whatever – but this doesn’t make these activities any more excusable. What is more, Luxembourg has made this stuff core to its economic policies – these other countries tend to have it merely as sidelines. That’s partly a function of size, but hey. We oppose these activities, and Junker deserves every bit of criticism he has got, regardless of what other countries are up to.