On Friday 22 June, the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, said that he was “satisfied” by the response of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, to the financial transactions tax (FTT).
“Mission accomplished: I have done what I promised the Federal Parliament and asked my European colleagues for clarifications”, Michel told the Belgian press agency Belga after the meeting (our translation).
He raised the point during a discussion on the economic situation on Friday morning. The Belgian Prime Minister complained that the countries participating in the reinforced cooperation were accusing Belgium of blocking an agreement on the FTT and reiterated his support for it.
Only Macron then spoke, criticising collective procrastination, rather than simply Belgian procrastination, in the negotiations.
According to our information, the French President reiterated his position, which is that the text needs to be negotiated in the context of Brexit. His finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, recently said in Brussels that all of the consequences of Brexit must be measured before making any decisions on the FTT.
Germany did not take the floor, but was also targeted by Michel's criticism. The technical meeting will be held on 3 July to seek progress on the dossier. A ministerial meeting may be held on the sidelines of the Ecofin Council, but this has not yet been confirmed. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer with editorial team)