Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

French lawmakers published a report to call for an intensification of the fight against tax havens and abusive financial centers.

« L’ambassadeur du Luxembourg m’a récemment expliqué que son pays devait faire face à la « concurrence » d’autres États et que le niveau de vie du Luxembourg risquait d’être menacé par les mesures de lutte contre les paradis fiscaux » (free translation : The ambassador of Luxembourg recently explained to me that his country was to face the “competition” of other States and that the standard of living of Luxembourg was likely to be threatened by the measures to fight tax havens), Henri Emmanuelli, quoted in the report, said.

The ambassador is Georges Santer who was previously ambassador, Permanent Representative to the OECD

What he said is very interesting.

It justifies every abuse in the name of the “standard of living” and growth:
- social dumping by developing countries that are to face the “competition” of other States and that the standard of living of which is likely to be threatened by the measures to fight social abuses (child work, working hours, low income)
- tolerated cultivation of narcotics in agricultural countries that are to face the “competition” of other States and that the standard of living of which is likely to be threatened by the measures to fight narcotics
- …


This is the new blunder.