Brussels, 28/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 October, the European Union and Liechtenstein signed an agreement on the automatic exchange of information on bank accounts, thereby updating an agreement signed in 2004.
Under the agreement, the automatic exchange will start in 2017 for information collected in 2016. The text translates the global and OECD standard on the automatic exchange of information. At this stage, the EU has already signed an agreement of this kind with Switzerland, in May of this year, and the European Commission is currently negotiating with Andorra, San Marino and Monaco. The Commissioner for Taxation, Pierre Moscovici, confirmed that negotiations with the other third states were on track.
On behalf of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council, finance minister Pierre Gramegna said that with this agreement, Liechtenstein was moving “into the wake of the most important international developments”. Pierre Moscovici said that the agreement concluded “reinforces Liechtenstein's international reputation as a committed partner in the fight against tax evasion”. He explained that the member states had announced that they plan to take account of this “positive development in their bilateral relations with Liechtenstein”. “Once they have done so, the Commission will draw the consequences”, Pierre Moscovici explained. The country is on the Commission's consolidated list of non-cooperative third countries. This list includes jurisdictions which are on at least ten national lists. The agreement is to be concluded before the end of the year. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)