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Denmark's Vestager fights EU battles with corporate giants Margrethe Vestager - Denmark's EU 'tax lady' taking on corporate giants
(35 minutes later)
Apple, Google, Starbucks, Amazon, Gazprom - and now Ikea. The European Commission's drive for tax fairness has brought competition cases against one multinational after another. Google, Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, Ikea, Qualcomm and Gazprom. The European Union's drive for tax fairness has brought competition cases against one multinational after another.
And in the vanguard is Denmark's no-nonsense woman in Brussels, Margrethe Vestager.And in the vanguard is Denmark's no-nonsense woman in Brussels, Margrethe Vestager.
A star in Danish politics, she hit the ground running when she joined Jean-Claude Juncker's Commission team in Brussels in 2014. A star in Danish politics, she joined Jean-Claude Juncker's Commission team in Brussels in 2014 and has declared heavy fines for big corporate names ever since.
"The motives that are breaching competition law are as old as Adam and Eve. It's about greed. Fear," she said in a speech in November this year. Apple has been hit with a €13bn (£11.5bn; $15bn) bill for back taxes.
"And when you combine that with power you get a very poisonous cocktail." Now Google faces a second multi-billion-euro fine for abusing its market dominance. The first, for €2.4bn, was for its shopping service. The latest, for its Android mobile phone system, is likely to be bigger than that.
Borgen inspiration She has earned the wrath of President Donald Trump: "Your tax lady, she really hates the US," he is reported to have told her boss, Jean-Claude Juncker.
For Danes, Ms Vestager (pronounced VES-taya) is renowned for knitting, bread-making and tweeting as well as tackling issues that no-one else has yet dared to touch. But Ms Vestager believes companies must pay their way.
"The motives that are breaching competition law are as old as Adam and Eve. It's about greed. Fear," she said in a speech in 2017. "And when you combine that with power you get a very poisonous cocktail."
What drives Vestager?
In Denmark, Ms Vestager (pronounced VES-taya) has a reputation for being tough, very decisive and hard to scare, one party colleague told the BBC.
And yet she is renowned at home for knitting, bread-making and tweeting just as much as tackling issues that no-one else has yet dared to touch.
Former colleagues insist that she, not ex-Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, was the true model for the fictional woman prime minister in the hit Danish political drama Borgen.Former colleagues insist that she, not ex-Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, was the true model for the fictional woman prime minister in the hit Danish political drama Borgen.
In 2015 it came as no surprise in the Folketing (parliament) that she took on two major multinationals in the space of a week. First she accused Google of anti-competitive behaviour by promoting its own shopping links. Then she accused Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom of abusing its position in Central and Eastern European gas markets. In 2015 it came as no surprise in the Folketing (parliament) that she took on two major multinationals in the space of a week.
Because Margrethe Vestager, as leader of the centrist Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), has already played a big role in challenging the status quo at home. First she accused Google of anti-competitive behaviour, then she took on Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom for abusing its position in Central and Eastern European gas markets.
Margrethe Vestager, as leader of the centrist Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), has already played a big role in challenging the status quo at home.
While still in opposition, she pushed the ruling coalition to cut an early retirement programme and raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 in early 2011.While still in opposition, she pushed the ruling coalition to cut an early retirement programme and raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 in early 2011.
Danes hated it at the time, but that major reform did her no harm. In reality, her party's fortunes soared and polled 9.5% in elections a few months later.Danes hated it at the time, but that major reform did her no harm. In reality, her party's fortunes soared and polled 9.5% in elections a few months later.
Political risePolitical rise
Borgen writer Adam Price once attended a party convention and has since spoken of Ms Vestager as the woman who inspired the character of Birgitte Nyborg, the leader of a small party, the Moderates, propelled to the post of prime minister.Borgen writer Adam Price once attended a party convention and has since spoken of Ms Vestager as the woman who inspired the character of Birgitte Nyborg, the leader of a small party, the Moderates, propelled to the post of prime minister.
In the series, Nyborg's marriage fails as she tries to juggle the demands of running a minority government with keeping a family going.In the series, Nyborg's marriage fails as she tries to juggle the demands of running a minority government with keeping a family going.
Ms Vestager, in contrast, appears unfazed. Her whole family moved to Brussels, apart from one daughter who stayed in Copenhagen to study. Ms Vestager, in contrast, appears unfazed. Her family moved to Brussels, while one daughter stayed in Copenhagen to study.
'In Brussels, no-one can hear you scream''In Brussels, no-one can hear you scream'
She wrote poetry during coalition talks after the 2011 elections and became renowned for her love of knitting and baking.She wrote poetry during coalition talks after the 2011 elections and became renowned for her love of knitting and baking.
She has 229,000 followers on her Twitter account and, since 2009, her tweets have involved a heady mix of politics and favourite hobbies. Party colleagues describe her as a mother figure who always remembered their birthdays, and that has continued during her time in Brussels.
When former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt nominated her for the post in Brussels, tongues wagged in Copenhagen.When former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt nominated her for the post in Brussels, tongues wagged in Copenhagen.
Was this an attempt to be rid of a troublesome minister, as depicted in a memorable Borgen episode entitled, "In Brussels no-one can hear you scream"?Was this an attempt to be rid of a troublesome minister, as depicted in a memorable Borgen episode entitled, "In Brussels no-one can hear you scream"?
That seems unlikely. Ms Thorning-Schmidt was herself being touted for a top job in Brussels. And as competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager has one of the toughest and highest-profile briefs in Brussels. That seems unlikely. Ms Thorning-Schmidt was herself being touted for a top job in Brussels.
The US treasury department has accused the Commission of targeting US corporations, saying its actions have an impact on US tax revenue and on global efforts to combat tax avoidance. The Commission denies any anti-US bias. What next for Vestager?
'Let me Google it' Margrethe Vestager, 50, has one of the toughest and highest-profile briefs in Brussels.
One of her thornier tasks in Brussels is tackling the "Luxleaks" scandal. Top companies were given sweetheart tax deals by the Luxembourg government, enabling them to funnel hundreds of millions of euros in profits through subsidiaries in the Grand Duchy. She is now being talked of as a contender in the 2019 race for the presidency of the European Commission.
In October 2015 the Commission found that Fiat had enjoyed unfair tax advantages in Luxembourg. Two years later, the Commission ordered Amazon to repay €250m (£221m; $293m) in taxes after finding it had been given an unfair tax deal. Meanwhile an investigation into McDonald's is still ongoing. "She would be what Europe needs at this time: someone who could bring Europe back on track," says party colleague Ida Auken.
Ms Vestager's current boss, Jean-Claude Juncker, was prime minister in Luxembourg at the time the deals were struck. At home she is also viewed by some as a potential prime minister, but such a return from Brussels would be unprecedented and commentators say it is hard to imagine.
In June 2016, Luxembourg prosecutors found two whistleblowers guilty over "Luxleaks". Former PricewaterhouseCoopers employees Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet received 12- and nine-month sentences respectively for leaking documents. For now she is winning praise and opprobrium in equal measure in her headline-grabbing role taking on the multinationals.
Having previously targeted Starbucks' practices in the Netherlands, the Commission has now announced it is to open an investigation into Ikea's corporate tax structure. One French MEP, Alain Lamassoure, believes she deserves a statue for having the guts for the task.
But the demand for Ireland to recover taxes from Apple dwarfs previous cases. Ms Vestager is requiring Apple to pay €13bn, dating back to 2003 - a move Apple CEO Tim Cook has called "total political crap". But Apple CEO Tim Cook's response to a €13bn tax bill was less than flattering.
She has defended the Commission's ruling while Apple and the Irish government are challenging it. "It's maddening, it's disappointing, it's clear this comes from a political place, it has no basis in fact or in law," he said.
When asked to describe Ms Vestager, a colleague in Copenhagen told the BBC: "She's a political go-getter who stands up for her beliefs." Vestager's roll-call of targets
Ms Vestager stresses that she is acting against market abuse - unfair competition - but not against a firm's market dominance, if that status is fair and legitimate. Under her watch, the Commission has faced accusations of targeting US corporations, such as Starbucks and Amazon, as well as Google and Apple. That is vehemently denied in Brussels.
"If you look for something you say, 'Let me Google it'. I think you should congratulate a company that is so successful," she said. The fines imposed on US multinationals are certainly high, but Ms Vestager's department has gone for other targets far closer to home.
The sweetheart deal that Apple benefited from was state aid from the Irish government, and it will be Dublin that has to collect the money.
Luxembourg's government was caught out too, in the "Luxleaks" scandal, which revealed that top companies such as Fiat and Amazon were allowed to funnel millions of euros in profits through subsidiaries in the Grand Duchy and pay precious little tax. France's Engie power company has also been hit.
Ms Vestager's boss, Jean-Claude Juncker, was Luxembourg's leader when the deals were struck.
Other EU states have been fingered too. The Netherlands is under investigation into its tax arrangements with Ikea and has already been told to collect back taxes from Starbucks.
Some have questioned her decision to take on Google's Android system, arguing it could harm consumers in Europe.
So why does she persist? One colleague in Copenhagen told the BBC: "She's a political go-getter who stands up for her beliefs."
The commissioner herself stresses that she is acting against unfair competition not against a firm's market dominance, as long as that status is fair and legitimate. And that is her message for Google too.
"If you look for something, you say, 'Let me Google it'. I think you should congratulate a company that is so successful," she said.