On this day, May 17,2016 – The Honorable FitzGerald Nissoli, in the chamber of the House, intervened and spoke to explain and declare a favorable votes on behalf of her parliamentary group on some important ratifications of international agreements.

The ratifications concerned and specified below were approved by the Camera Dei Deputati:
The cooperation agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Jordan referencing the fight against crime; the agreement on partnership and cooperation between the European Union and its member states, on one end, and Mongolia, on the other; the agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters and, of particular relevance, the convention between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Panama for the avoidance of the imposition of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of fiscal evasion.

Particularly, Nissoli, concerning the fiscal convention between Italy and Panama, “the problem of fiscal evasion, as recently emerged in the Panama Papers, is categorized by a particular gravity of its illegality, aside from the negative value and social stigma, also on an ethical plane that it can be distinguished. But,in instances like this, if it is faced with urgency and the necessity to make a tight collaboration between governments of countries interested in stopping fiscal evasion, utilizing an operating system where information is traded, while promoting the transparency of legal systems, we can have success.

Therefore, Nissoli, announcing the vote in favor of ratification, highlighted the importance of the Agreement because there is “the provision of a very broad exchange of information, which also regards information held by a bank or the financial institution, in line with international guidelines that could substantially provide the end of the ‘secrecy banking’ era.”