The European Green Deal, aimed at transforming the European Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, was recently complemented by the REPowerEU strategy to address the challenges of the Russia-Ukraine War and ensure energy independence from Russia. In this ‘What the Chiefs Say’, we will review and discuss how tax policies, together with market-based and regulatory measures, will shape the EU’s green transition, while ensuring that the transition is socially just and that the EU remains competitive.
‘What the Chief Says’ events are exclusive, small, informal and off-the-record roundtable debates that offer our members the exclusive opportunity to engage directly and get to the heart of a specific policy issue with a senior decision-maker from a European institution or government. These events are geared to be in tune with the interest of our members and are strategically linked to emerging trends within the EU sphere. It allows us to focus on the opportunities and identify the possible challenges in the European Commission’s own agenda and provides the possibility to go into greater depth and discuss the ‘nitty gritty’ of policies affecting Europe in the next years and beyond.
This 60-minute discussion will include a 10-minute introduction by Maria Elena Scoppio, Director for Indirect Taxation and Tax Administration at the European Commission Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Unions (DG TAXUD), after which Friends of Europe’s members will have the opportunity to pose comments or questions in an off-the-record exchange on the lessons learnt and way forward for European taxation.
Speaker
Maria Elena Scoppio
Director for Indirect Taxation and Tax Administration at the European Commission Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Unions (DG TAXUD)
Moderator
Dharmendra Kanani
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Spokesperson of Friends of Europe
Director for Indirect Taxation and Tax Administration at the European Commission Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Unions (DG TAXUD)
Maria Elena Scoppio leads the Indirect Taxation and Tax Administration department of DG TAXUD, which aims to develop and implement tax policy across the EU on indirect and environmental taxation. Prior to her current position, she was a member of the cabinet of the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, in which role she was responsible for all issues related to DG TAXUD at the cabinet level and notably coordinated legislative proposals in the field of direct and indirect taxation and customs. Scoppio is the former head of unit in DG TAXUD in charge of the elaboration and development of the EU policy regarding VAT and digital taxation. She has previously supervised taxation issues as a member of cabinet for Commissioners Moscovici, Šemeta and Kovács. Before joining the Commission, she worked as a tax and legal advisor for Arthur Andersen.
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Spokesperson of Friends of Europe
Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sector and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.
