With tax rulings scandals hitting headlines, EPTV looks into the tools available to Parliament for fact-finding investigations on breaches and misapplications of EU law.

Parliament's powers of investigation

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/12008252/v003-0080-en.srt

In their day to day routine,  MEPs appoint, debate, supervise

and with Member States  decide on key European issues.

They rarely investigate.  But the tools are there:

the committee of inquiry  and the temporary or special committee.

These are limited to examinations  of alleged breaches

They are decided by Plenary vote  at the request of a quarter of all 751 MEPs.

Before that, the move must have been  approved by the Conference of Presidents

Once mandated, the committee  can question witnesses

and is entitled to documents  pertinent to the case.

Generally, the special or temporary  committee has more members,

It too has to have the agreement  of the Conference of Presidents.

At the end, it can recommend legislation,  which the Commission,

as the initiator of EU legislation,  can decide to follow up on... or not.

There have been only three  committees of inquiry:

into the collapse of the  The Equitable Life Assurance Society,

and the Community's transit regime  relating to non-EU goods transiting the EU.

In the past, special committees have looked  at human genetics, safety at sea,

climate change, the financial crisis the  Echelon electronic eavesdropping system,

the use by the CIA of EU countries  to snatch terrorism suspects

and the tax rulings  of some Member States

favourable to some  multinational corporations.

On this last one, they decided  to set up a special committee

after the tax rulings scandal was revealed

in Luxembourg, the Netherlands,  Belgium and Ireland.

There's one thing, however,  which is important to point out at the outset:

It's about fact-finding,  about getting answers

to who, where, how, when  and anywhere else?

The first task of the special committee is to  define its working practices and timetable,

to select the Chair, Vice-chairs,  rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs.

This one will be travelling a lot, visiting EU  states to build up a comprehensive picture.

will turn into a dream team  if it generates a few nightmares for some.

The brief says Mr Lamassoure,  the Special Committee Chair,

a former French Minister,  is boiled down to this.

The mandate is to find out,  inform and make proposals.

What does that mean in more detail,  in terms of scope and function?

The Special Committee is completely free  in terms of the themes we concentrate on:

we ask the heads of state and government  and the EU Commission critical questions.

It's not a persecution,  it's a fact-finding strong mission.

It doesn't as many powers  as a pure inquiry committee,

but I think, as a first move,  this will strong enough.

The past has clearly shown us that such  special committees also attract attention

in the media,  and this results in political pressure,

also in the national parliaments  of the Member States.

In one respect, this special committee  doesn't feel underpowered.

Power is after all influence,  and a great deal of that

is generated by the media  and by social platforms.

so that anyone  who has information to share,

and would be prepared  to testify can do it.

Parliament's right of inquiry  is an important tool

in the exercise of its democratic oversight.

It isn't allowed and doesn't pretend  to supersede national parliaments,

but it does want to get at the truth  through focused inquiry.

with the weight  of public opinion behind it.