Chancellor Christian Kern, AUSTRIA
Prime Minister Charles Michel, BELGIUM
President Francois Hollande, FRANCE
Chancellor Angela Merkel, GERMANY
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, GREECE
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, ITALY
Prime Minister António Costa, PORTUGAL
President Andrej Kiska, SLOVAKIA
President of the Government Miro Cerar, SLOVENIA
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, SPAIN
<DATE>
For the attention of: <NAME>
Dear <NAME>,
RE: The Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) – the Time is Now
We, the undersigned, coalitions of civil society organisations and trade unions representing many millions of European citizens, acknowledge your combined efforts over 5 years to agree an international FTT.
In the wake of the leaks of the Panama Papers, efforts to clean up the financial sector must be accelerated, and the FTT is an important element of Europe’s approach to this problem. In addition to raising substantial revenue to protect jobs and public services in Europe, and help combat poverty, pandemics and climate change in the wider world, the FTT would provide tax authorities with a clearer picture of the ownership of financial assets, helping in the fight against fraud and other crimes. Furthermore, the FTT raises revenue from precisely those institutions doing so much to enable the use of tax havens: the big banks.
The stage is set for an historic announcement in June. The FTT is hugely popular with the general public, and you have a clear opportunity to put the welfare of Europe’s citizens – and indeed of the poorest around the world – ahead of the interests of the financial sector.
Our message to you is that the Time is Now for the FTT.
The technical analysis has been completed, what is now required is political agreement. We were profoundly disappointed that you were unable to reach a resolution by last year’s December deadline. The fruits of your endeavours must be realised in June, the new deadline that you have committed to. Agreement would be greeted as a remarkable step forward that sets the lead for other countries to follow. Any further delay would be deeply unpopular.
Make history, make the FTT happen now!
Yours sincerely,
EUROPEAN FTT COALITIONS
1. Austria: On behalf of a broad coalition of 127 civil society organisations:
Heinz Hödl – Director KOO-Coordination Office of the Austrian Bishop’s Conference for Development and Mission
Annelies Vilim – Director, Global Responsibility, Austrian Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid
Alexandra Strickner – Chairperson, ATTAC Austria
2. Belgium: On behalf of a broad coalition of 150 civil society organisations and over 25,000 volunteers:
Arnaud Zacharie – General Secretary, CNCD-11.11.11
Stefaan Declercq – General Secretary, Oxfam Belgium
Eric Goeman – Spokesperson, ATTAC Flanders
Bogdan Vanden Berghe – Director, 11.11.11
3. Denmark: On behalf of the Danish Robin Hood Coalition consisting of 12 member organisations:
Lars Koch – IBIS, Director of Programmes & Influence
4. Finland: On behalf of a Platform of 318 development NGOs
Timo Lappalainen – Executive Director, KEPA (the national platform for Finnish development NGOs)
5. France: On behalf of French NGOs and citizens supporting the French Robin Hood Tax Campaign:
Claire Fehrenbach – Executive Director, Oxfam France
Hakima Himmich – President, Coalition PLUS
6. Germany: On behalf of the ‘Steuer gegen Armut’ campaign supported by 99 civil society organisations:
Detlev v. Larcher – Steering Committee, Attac Germany
7. Ireland: On behalf of the Claiming our Future FTT campaign, supported by 42 Civil Society Organisations:
Niall Crowley – Convener, Claiming our Future
8. Italy: On behalf of the Italian FTT coalition (60 organisations):
Leonardo Becchetti – Spokesperson, ZeroZeroCinque
9. Portugal: On behalf of the Portuguese Platform of 66 Development NGOs:
Pedro Krupenski – Chair of the Board, Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD
10. Slovakia: On behalf of the Platform of 30 Slovak NGOs:
Lenka Nemcova – Executive Secretary, Slovak NGDO Platform
11. Spain: On behalf of La Plataforma ITF ¡YA!, Paraísos fiscales ¡NO! Supported by 14 CSOs + La Alianza Española por la Tasa Robin Hood, supported by 11 CSOs+ Plataforma Justicia Fiscal supported by 10 organisations, including three platforms:
Ricardo García Zaldívar – Spokeperson, Attac España
Vanessa López – Executive Director, Salud por Derecho
Miguel Gorospe – Coordinator, Campaña Justicia Fiscal
12. UK: On behalf of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, a coalition of 115 UK organisations:
David Hillman – Director, Stamp Out Poverty / Robin Hood Tax Steering Group
OTHER NETWORKS/COALITIONS
1. Action For Global Health (AfGH) – a European CSO network representing over 30 NGO members and national health platforms in 6 European countries and the EU
Tim Roosen, Coordinator
2. Arbeiterkammer Österreich (AK Europe) – representing 3,4 million members in Austria
Rudi Kaske, President
3. Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe – representing 130 member organisations
Wendel Trio, Director
4. CIDSE – representing 17 Catholic Development organisations in Europe and North America
Bernd Nilles, Secretary-General
5. European Anti-Poverty Network – representing more than 6,000 civil society organisations across Europe
Fintan Farrell, Director
6. European ATTAC Network (EAN) – representing 20 organizations in 20 countries
7. European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) – defending more than 22 million workers and representing 120 national trade unions from 38 European countries
Harald Wiedenhofer, General Secretary
8. European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) – representing 8 million European workers
Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary
9. European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) – representing 45 million members of 89 trade union organisations in 39 European countries, and 10 European Trade Union Federations
Luca Visentini, General Secretary
10. Friends of the Earth Europe (FOEE) – representing more than 30 national organisations and thousands of local groups
Magda Stoczkiewicz, Director
11. Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) Europe – representing more than 1,000 organisations in national coalitions and platforms in 23 European countries
Ingo Ritz, Director of Programs
12. Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) – a network that brings together over 240 organisations from over 70 countries supporting global health
Peter van Rooijen, Executive Director
13. International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) European Region – representing 30 member organisations in countries in the European Economic Area
Cristina Martins, President
14. International HIV/AIDS Alliance – an alliance of 32 independent civil society organisations
Marielle Hart, Head of Policy
15. Public Services International (PSI) – representing 20 million members of 669 unions in 154 countries and territories.
Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary