Wopke Hoekstra: A Wild Card In the EU Tax Arena

Wopke Hoekstra, commissioner-designate for climate, net zero, and clean growth, will be the EU’s next tax figurehead, but observers are scratching their heads over his agenda because taxation hasn’t been uppermost in his political career.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to give the taxation mandate to Hoekstra raised some eyebrows, not only because the tax competence will be diluted over several portfolios — with customs passing to incoming Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič — but also because of Hoekstra’s involvement in the Pandora Papers tax scandal, which has sparked criticism from several members of the European Parliament.

Hoekstra, 49, an avid amateur ice skater and boxer, grew up in a family of university professors and medical doctors. He studied law at Leiden University in the Netherlands and started his career at multinational oil conglomerate Shell before joining the consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, where he eventually became a partner. He made the switch to politics in 2011 and was Dutch minister of finance from October 2017 until January 2022