Europe votes: Benelux states take steps on tax avoidance

12:01

With our eyes on this June's European elections, we hold the second debate in our series on countries or groups of EU countries. We look at three founding members of the European Economic Community in 1957, which became the European Union in 1993: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, known as the Benelux states. They see themselves as frontrunners in European integration, having pioneered a customs union 80 years ago, which showed their neighbours the benefits of trading without tariffs. Benelux prime ministers hold yearly summits and there are numerous ministerial and parliamentary contacts. But while the three countries have given impetus to key EU issues, their record on tax and financial matters has been seen as mixed. We discuss this with three MEPs.