The EESC is urging the Council to send out the right signal to the European public and to prove that Europe is able to tackle this fundamental issue. Tax evasion costs EUR 1 trillion a year - EUR 2 000 for each and every one of Europe's 500 million citizens...EESC president Henri Malosse denounced tax evasion as theft...The money is, in effect, lost to education and healthcare. Spain had to make EUR 10 billion worth of saving by cutting money earmarked for its health and education programmes. Effectively combating tax evasion could save billions of euros that will help people in their everyday lives...EESC supports the Commission's proposal for an automatic system of information exchange. The Committee would also like to see more powerful tools to combat tax avoidance...