As expected (see EUROPE 12383/18), the information item on the subject of the country-by-country reporting (CBCR) proposal requested by Sweden at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) on Thursday, 5 December, turned into a genuine discussion between Finance Ministers.
The European Commission has made it clear that it does not intend to change the legal basis of the proposal and Member States have not yet found the unanimity required to change this legal basis.
In a press conference, Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis also indicated that the Commission had no intention of withdrawing its legislative proposal. The Ecofin Council therefore simply took note of the deadlock.
Thursday's discussion was very similar to last week's discussion at the Competitiveness Council, where twelve Member States blocked adoption of the text and asked for it to be referred back to the Ecofin Council (see EUROPE 12379/13).
Sweden and Luxembourg - supported by Ireland, Estonia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta - asked the Commission to reconsider the proposal’s legal basis so that the matter could be dealt with by the Ecofin Council.
The Council of the EU’s legal department also provided the Member States with a clarification and reminded them that all of the configurations in the Council of the EU formations have equal standing. It explained that “The Ecofin Council cannot decide to take a matter to another configuration”. In the event of a conflict between two Council of the EU configurations, the treaties also allow for the General Affairs Council to deal with the matter, he said.
Spain, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, France and Poland spoke in support of the text that is currently on the table and which therefore constitutes the legal basis proposed by the European Commission.
Italian Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said he was particularly impressed by the “passion” shown by some countries for legal issues. “I am afraid that the real reason behind this interest (...) is to have a less stringent and effective text”, he said.
The meeting ended on a slightly more optimistic note. The Council of the EU’s legal department indicated that it is ready to assist Member States in adapting the recitals in the text in order to place the emphasis more on company law than on tax, which might possibly enable a qualified majority on the current text to be achieved. However, this will require the Council of the EU to make a political decision, of course. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)