Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Monday, 20 September 2021
Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs
Developments at European Union Level: Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni
Mr. Paolo Gentiloni:
That is a very good question. I do not think anyone has a silver bullet that will answer it. What I am sure of is that if our starting point is a global and acceptable framework involving all, or almost all, of the 140 countries in question, that will be the basis for addressing the challenge the Deputy mentioned.
Next would come the implementation. The OECD agreement under discussion contains the so-called model rules to address this problem. The OECD inclusive framework will do its best to make these model rules function. Will they completely abolish the risk the Deputy mentioned? I would not be optimistic because that problem is there, although technology is helping to mitigate that threat. If there is a global common basis and some technical rules on which the OECD is working, that is a good step forward.
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