Exchange of information: effectiveness and efficiency

The DAC has been amended several times. During this process, the DAC expanded the areas in which information was to be exchanged, especially where it concerns automatic EOI. This chapter shows that the DAC is essentially a necessary instrument. It also examines whether all amendments to the DAC are effective. This research is performed by first explaining the objective of each amendment of the DAC, followed an analysis of whether the objectives of the newly introduced exchange and the exchange itself are in alignment. Subsequently, the results of previous evaluations by EU institutions are taken into account. The general conclusion is that the information exchanged is often of insufficient quality and underused. As such, the DAC amendments appear to lack effectiveness. Without any proof of effectiveness, the legitimacy of the compliance burden placed on companies becomes questionable