3. Tax wealth, tech giants and fossil fuels
The headline tax news from the hearing was that Hoekstra — whose portfolio also includes taxation — backs EU levies on tech giants if returning U.S. President Donald Trump drops out of a global deal to tax multinational firms.
Hoekstra’s openness came as a surprise, given that Brussels had previously dismissed speculation about going it alone.
Trump’s win might have changed that logic — Hoekstra said his preferred option is finding a common line with the U.S., but that the EU should act unilaterally if that’s not possible.
Overall, the Dutchman quelled concerns from the Socialists and Greens by committing to taxing the rich and big polluters, including the aviation sector, and to cracking down on shell companies.
While criticizing him for not setting a deadline to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies, Austrian Greens lawmaker Lena Schilling, a climate activist-turned-MEP, lauded his “ambition” on taxation. “It is promising that he wants to use taxes to move away from oil and gas, address social inequality, and make the rich contribute,” she said.
4. A new approach to climate finance?
With his confirmation secured, Hoekstra jets off to Azerbaijan next week to attend this year’s United Nations climate conference, known as COP29. In Baku, participants will have to settle on a deal to finance climate action in developing countries.