After months of discussion and speculation, a vague initial description of what the much-anticipated financial transaction tax (FTT) might look like has been revealed.
As finance ministers from those countries that agreed to implement an FTT gathered on 6 April, the tax already seemed to be far from the ambitious, progressive tax many had hoped for.
When leaders first discussed the idea of taxing financial transactions in the aftermath of the financial crisis, there was a call for part of the money raised to be dedicated to poverty-alleviation both here and in poor countries, as well as climate action; a helping hand for those hit hardest by the recession and devastating climate impacts.
With expected revenues estimated at around €37bn, just five per cent of this tax could train a million nurses in Africa, while a quarter of it could ensure Europe's annual contribution to the - still empty - UN-backed green climate fund.
"European leaders now have an obligation to use some of the funds raised to help those hard hit by the financial crisis"
However, as news emerged from their meeting earlier this week, it soon became clear that the agreement was a far cry from the ambitious tax the European commission had proposed back in 2012. The ministers were worryingly vague about the taxation of derivatives, which if exempted would see the potential revenue of the tax decrease by two-thirds to just €16bn.
On top of this, a troubling avoidance of the 'allocation' question left many asking whether this once pioneering group of countries might take the 'Robin Hood' out of the 'Robin Hood Tax'.
With the European elections just around the corner, the lacklustre agreement appears to demonstrate a desire to window dress the issue rather than adopt a tax that could help solve some of the serious problems we face today: climate change and poverty both in and outside of Europe.
Ensuring that the FTT is both fair in distribution and broad in scope is a simple matter of justice. If left unchecked, austerity measures will plunge up to 25 million more Europeans into poverty by 2025, taking the total number of people in economic turmoil to almost a third of the population.
The economic crisis has also taken a toll on the developing world; those who did least to cause the problem. The crisis left a €48bn hole in the budgets of developing countries. It is also estimated that there is an EU aid funding gap of €36bn, which is needed to help reach the UN millennium development goals target by the end of next year.
European leaders now have an obligation to use some of the funds raised to help those hard hit by the financial crisis. The idea has been backed by more than a thousand economists, including Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs, as well as several high-profile figures such as Desmond Tutu and Bill Gates. Added to this, two-thirds of European citizens agree with the introduction of the tax.
"The new parliament, and the new commission president it elects, must continue to maintain pressure on governments and pursue a tax true to its roots"
After much debate in the European parliament, and with the continuing support of the European commission, the governments' inability to find an ambitious solution is puzzling; if 751 MEPs from different political groups were able to do so, why aren't a handful of member states? The new parliament, and the new commission president it elects, must continue to maintain pressure on governments and pursue a tax true to its roots.
On 10 and 11 May, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande met to discuss a number of issues, most notably the situation in the Ukraine.
However, the German and French leaders need to seize these opportunities to discuss the FTT, not only to signal a far greater ambition regarding the scope of the tax, now and in the future, but to also discuss how it can be effectively used to fund projects that help transform the lives of millions of people around the world.