Brussels, 30/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - Several countries involved in the enhanced cooperation scheme to introduce a financial transactions tax (FTT) expressed concern at the Coreper meeting on Thursday 30 October about the fact that a document from the Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU that will be presented to ministers at the Ecofin Council next week calls on the ministers to 'solve the issues' raised in the document.
The document also calls on Ecofin to instruct experts and Coreper to finalise a draft compromise. The document reveals the sheer scale of the problems that are preventing the talks reaching conclusion (see EUROPE 11180 and 11186). The above-mentioned countries stressed the gap between the actual progress made in the talks and the ambitions set out by the Presidency in its document. A source explained that several countries say that the issue is not yet mature enough for such talks at Ecofin. The debate is more about the form than the contents as such, explains another source. It has therefore been decided that the Presidency will not ask Ecofin to find solutions, but rather to give indications about the path to be followed to settle the issues in question.
No interventions were made by any delegation of a country wishing to remain outside the FTT, in contrast to the virulent opinions positions expressed by ministers at a meeting in May (see EUROPE 11073). The Commission has again signalled its willingness to provide any technical aid that might be needed. Last week, the current Taxation Commissioner, Algirdas Semeta, told this newsletter that sticking to the deadlines that the ministers had set for themselves was a “question of credibility” (see EUROPE 11182). (EL)