20
May
2026
Watch
Financing EU priorities in a sustainable, predictable and resilient way through a new EU own resource from the online gambling and betting services sector (debate)
Madam President, Anyone who disregards the principle of subsidiarity disregards their citizens. Let me explain why: At European level, this principle states that the EU can only intervene in those areas that do not fall within its exclusive competence, i.e. when the policy objectives cannot be achieved by the Member States themselves. I firmly believe that today's Commission proposal does not help the Member States. On the contrary: It deprives us of resources and undermines the social and fiscal autonomy of individual countries. Revenue must therefore remain in the hands of the State from which it originates. Because every single state knows its internal problems and can solve them in principle better than the EU. Let us think of our hospitals, our schools and our communities, which have to fight the tragedy of gambling addiction on a daily basis. Who knows the emergency situations better than the respective regions? However, the Commission still wants to tax gambling and betting services. This would only worsen the situation on the ground. The black market would be expanded, the national budgets of the Member States would be deprived of important resources and citizens would be driven into the arms of illegal and unlicensed betting companies – with enormous risks to our consumer protection. This must be rejected.