Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-06-Speech-2-492"
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"en.20100706.31.2-492"2
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"I confirm that last year, the Commission presented to the Council a proposal for an agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the Principality of Liechtenstein to combat fraud and any other illegal activity and to ensure exchange of information in tax matters. In addition, the Commission has presented to the Council a draft mandate to open negotiations on similar agreements with Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland.
Both the draft agreement with the Principality of Liechtenstein and the draft mandate are still pending in the Council, as some Member States have political reservations and link those files with the revision of the EU Savings Directive. I believe that these draft agreements and mandates should not be held hostage to the Saving Directive revision, as their objective is to fight against fraud at a time when there is an even more urgent need to protect our common financial interests.
The Commission has no specific information indicating the main third countries in which European funds choose to set up offshore companies in order to evade taxes. However, it is my conviction that the proposed agreements will contribute to improving the flow of this kind of information and they are essential tools to promote the policy of good governance in the tax area, which is built along the three following principles: transparency, exchange of information and freer tax competition.
The objective of this policy is not to target tax havens per se but to reach an agreement with as many third countries as possible on the common principles of cooperation and transparency. The ECOFIN Council has endorsed these principles and has recognised the need to promote them on as broad a geographical basis as possible.
The draft agreement with the Principality of Liechtenstein and the draft mandate for negotiations with four other jurisdictions constitute prime examples of a coherent EU approach. They provide a multilateral framework for minimum rules on exchange of information and assistance between all the parties, which should enable EU Member States and third countries to combat tax fraud and evasion more effectively. But the Commission is doing more to promote its policy of transparency, exchange of information and freer tax competition in its relations with third countries. This is pursued, notably through initiatives such as the enhancement of administrative cooperation, the code of conduct on corporate taxation or the communication tax and development, cooperating with developing countries on promoting good governance in tax matters, which address relations with third countries. The Commission is also very active, together with its Member States, within international organisations such as the OECD, notably in the global forum on exchange of information and its peer review process."@en1
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