The European Parliament has agreed to set up a successor committee to the Special Committee on Tax Rulings established in the wake of the Luxembourg Leaks scandal, in a move that is likely to place further scrutiny on Ireland's corporate tax regime.

A special meeting of the heads of the main political groups in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday agreed to establish a committee to follow up on the work done by the Special Committee on Tax Rulings, known as TAXE, although the precise nature of its mandate will be decided next week.

On Wednesday, MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the report issued by the committee which calls for greater transparency in corporate tax , and a proposal to introduce a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) - a move that is strongly opposed by the Government.

Irish MEPs

All four Fine Gael MEPs voted against the proposal, along with Sinn Fein MEPs Matt Carthy and Lynn Boylan. Independent MEPs Marian Harkin and Nessa Childers voted in favour of the main resolution, while Luke 'Ming' Flanagan abstained.

The Green group in the European Parliament, which has been leading calls for the committee to be extended, criticised the decision to create a temporary committee and not to extend the current committee’s mandate.

Following the adoption of the committee's report, Elisa Ferreira, the Portuguese MEP who helped draft the report said that corporate tax avoidance was "politically unacceptable."

“On the one hand we have austerity, cuts to health and education. On the other hand we have multinational corporations that have a free hand. This is something that is politically unacceptable. Europe must use this opportunity to change the status quo.”