Speaking during December's debate on competition policy with EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, ECR Group Member Daiva Matonienė said that Europe needed more fiscal competition between its regions.

The ECR Group was pleased to hear Commissioner Vestager tell the Committee of the Regions plenary in December about the Commission's efforts to combat tax evasion, tax fraud and aggressive tax avoidance. However, at the same time Ms Matonienė (Member of Šiauliai City Council in Lithuania) underlined that "tax evasion and tax competition are two separate issues" and that "more fiscal responsibility and fiscal competition would allow regions to create jobs".

Ms Matonienė highlighted the example of Lombardy and Veneto, reminding Members that, on 22 October 2017, citizens of these two regions in northern Italy had voted overwhelmingly for greater autonomy from the central government.

"This shows that Europeans are unhappy about the fact that substantial resources are often generated at a regional level but they do not remain there to help local governments meeting local needs", she concluded.