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Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, will appear before a European Parliament committee to answer questions about Luxembourg’s tax policies during his 18 years as the country’s prime minister. Pictured: Juncker (standing, on left) is photographed, while speaking about Brexit negotiations, during a parliamentary plenary session in Strasbourg on 5 April 2017. Photo: European Parliament/Mathieu Cugnot 

Juncker, European Commission president since 2014, was the grand duchy’s prime minister between 1995 and 2013.

The Panama Papers cache of 11.5m leaked documents revealed the inner workings of thousands of offshore entities used by multinational companies and wealthy individuals to reduce taxes. Much of the activity was perfectly legal, while some was not.

A European Parliament press release issued on Monday stated:

“Mr Juncker will join MEPs in discussing the continuing and upcoming commission initiatives in the fight against money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance, as well as Luxembourg’s cooperation on tax matters.”

In advance of the hearing, the parliament’s Green/EFA Group published a “study on the tax practices of Luxembourg during Juncker’s leadership, including illegal tax evasion by private individuals.”

“The report shows how the Luxembourg government has systematically blocked European laws to prevent tax evasion and obtained exemptions for Luxembourg,” according to the bloc.

“Jean-Claude Juncker must explain his role in Luxembourg’s tax haven business in front of the inquiry committee and take responsibility for his past mistakes,” Sven Giegold, a German MEP who spearheaded the report, said in a communiqué on Monday evening. “The business model established by Luxembourg has cost European countries at least 300 million euros in lost tax revenue,” between 2005 and 2016.

Since becoming European Commission chief, Juncker has advocated for greater tax cooperation between the EU member states, including the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base programme, which is still being discussed by European leaders.

The committee meeting is scheduled to begin Tuesday 30 May at 3pm and will be broadcast online.