On the eve of a highly anticipated ministerial discussion on the Commission's proposals for the taxation of the digital sector (see EUROPE 12089), on Friday 7 September, all eyes were on Berlin, which seems to be backpedalling, whilst others have taken a step forward.
Upon his arrival in Vienna to meet his European counterparts, however, the German finance minister, Olaf Scholz, who has been accused by the German press of now opposing the proposal, did little to clarify his position and appeared fairly evasive, describing the dossier as very complicated.
“You can't find simple solutions. And that's why it makes sense for us to do it very carefully”, was as far as he was prepared to comment.
In the meantime, the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU has called for clarity. “It is our intention to ensure here tomorrow that we have clarity at European level as to which one of these proposed solutions is the right one”, said Minister Hartwig Löger.
Given this ongoing uncertainty surrounding Germany's position, speculation is rife. “I cannot imagine such a country as Germany will refuse it”, said the European Commissioner for Taxation, Pierre Moscovici. On Thursday, it was the turn of the French minister, Bruno Le Maire, who is still hoping for an agreement before the end of the year, to assert that Berlin still supports the Commission's proposals (see EUROPE 12090).
With the Finnish minister, Petteri Orpo, taking pains to reiterate his preference for an international solution right from his arrival, Latvia's Dana Reizniece-Ozola got behind the European proposal, also suggesting that Germany's reluctance could be explained by its determination to “play their strong role in discussions with the US and the big countries”.
In Luxembourg on Wednesday, at a joint press conference with his French and Belgian opposite numbers, the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, seemed to take a step forward.
“We consider that it is important to have rules that go beyond the Twenty-Eight; we are calling for it to be done at OECD level”, he said, in line with the position defended by the country right from the start.
However, acknowledging that it was taking time for an international solution to take shape, he added that if the EU did “something limited in time” to put an end to a situation of tax injustice, accompanied by a guarantee that a long-term solution going beyond the EU's borders would be set in place, then Luxembourg may well be able to support it. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana, Lucas Tripoteau and Mathieu Bion)