24/04/2017 (Agence Europe) – Slovakia has accepted the compromise put forward by its peers on the financial transactions tax (FTT). Readers may recall that at the ministerial meeting on this highly sensitive dossier in March, the countries unwilling to accept an exemption from the tax for pension funds made a proposal to Belgium and Slovakia whereby this option would be available only to pension funds (and not insurance companies as well, as Belgium in particular had called for). Slovakia has now agreed to the other countries' proposal, several sources confirmed on Monday 24 April. The participating member states are now therefore awaiting responses from Belgium and Slovenia. Belgium is required by a governmental agreement to protect the insurance sector. Slovenia, for its part, is concerned that the future revenue of the FTT could drop as a result of further exemptions. (EL)