Brussels, 01/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the General Affairs Council adopted conclusions threatening Switzerland that negotiations would be blocked on other dossiers on the table if no agreement is reached on savings income taxation. The conclusions state that the EU is willing to press ahead in all negotiations with a view to achieving positive results as soon as possible. They state, however, that "it is, in this perspective, crucial that the Swiss authorities should adopt the necessary steps so that the negotiations on the taxation of savings make progress quickly". As anticipated in yesterday's EUROPE, the conclusions specify that "should a successful outcome not be achieved, the Council considers it would be difficult to reach agreement in Council to conclude negotiations with Switzerland in other areas". Luxembourg, which would have liked a more moderate wording, finally rallied to the compromise. Progress in negotiations will be assessed during the Ecofin Council scheduled for 8 October in Luxembourg. Swiss Federal Adviser Kaspar Villiger will, on that occasion, discuss with EU finance ministers during a lunch for the joint EU/EFTA Council.