Vilnius, 16/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - “We are confident that the Commission's arguments and arguments of the legal service of the Commission will demonstrate very clearly to our member states that the approach which has been taken in the proposal is the correct one and does not breach any provisions of the Treaty”, said EU Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Semeta, commenting on the financial transactions tax plans, after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Saturday 14 September.
Pointing out that the subject wasn't addressed during the meeting, he was anxious to contradict a report issued on 6 September by the legal department of the EU Council of Ministers, claiming that the draft FTT directive, to introduce a financial transactions tax (FTT) in eleven member states through enhanced cooperation, went beyond the member states' power over taxation under international law and was incompatible with the EU Treaty, a statement that Semeta disagrees with (see EUROPE 10918).
The Commissioner said: “I believe that we will present arguments to our member states for the next meeting of the Council working group. So the work is in progress and I do not see any reasons to stop this work or to make some additional reflections”. (EL and FG/transl.fl)