Brussels, 08/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg on 7 June, the EU's finance ministers adopted conclusions against tax dodging, stressing the need for further action to actively combat tax fraud, especially VAT fraud. They said further technical analysis was required on more general application of the reverse charge VAT mechanism (see EUROPE 9206). At its last meeting in 2006, they said the ECOFIN Council would be providing the European Commission with guidelines on how to approach future work. In a statement, the Austrian Presidency asked the Commission to prepare a draft directive as soon as possible to allow Member States to make the best use of the reverse charge VAT mechanism for supplies between two companies established in the same Member State for up to EUR 5000. Last week, the European Commission launched a debate on a coordinated strategy for tackling tax fraud (see EUROPE 9202). Two Member States, Germany and Austria, want authorisation to be able to use the reverse charge mechanism to tackle VAT tax fraud.