January15,2019

The European Union’s executive section will propose to abolish the national vetoes

on tax policy. EU governments will certainly reject the plan, which may trigger a

backlash from populists to protest against the sovereignty of member states before the

key elections in May.

The EU's decision on taxation requires unanimity among governments, which is often difficult to achieve because low-tax advocates, like Ireland, oppose policies that are seen as weakening their economic competitiveness. However, the European Commission will recommend that EU governments agree to gradually abandon their national veto rights from this year.

Last week, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici said that

it was unlikely to reach such a consensus on this issue. On January 13th, French

anti-immigrant leader Marine Le Pen launched her party campaign, saying that she

and her allies hope that the EU can return more power to countries and the “people.”