29/05/2017 (Agence Europe) – At the 'Competitiveness' Council on Monday 29 May, the member states of the EU adopted without discussion the second anti-tax avoidance directive (ATAD2), which specifically aims to respond to hybrid mismatch situations between member states and third countries (see EUROPE 11654). These mismatches play on differing legal descriptions of the same operation between two different member states, creating situations of double non-taxation. The first version of the directive, on which the member states agreed in 2016 (see EUROPE 11575), dealt with hybrid mismatch situations between two member states. The agreement was made possible by a compromise halfway between the demands of France and the UK, to level out their clash over the exemptions for the financial sector called for by London. The final text provides for voluntary exemptions up to 31 December 2022. (EL)