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Notiziario Marketpress di
Giovedì 09 Dicembre 2004
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RESULTS OF COUNCIL OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE MINISTERS, BRUSSELS, 6-7 DECEMBER 2004 |
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Brussels, 9 December 2004 - Financial Framework (Eh) The Council took stock of the progress of the negotiations on the proposal of Financial Framework. The proposal fleshes out the budget plans for the period 2007-2013 and provides a detailed overview of the Union’s goals and what resources are needed. An agreement on principals and guidelines for future negotiations aimed at achieving political agreement on the Financial Framework next year is expected by the European Council next week. Vat - Place of supply of services (Ma) Ministers discussed the Commission proposal of December 2003 (see Ip/03/1808) to change the place of supply of services for Value Added Tax (Vat) purposes where the customer is a trader. Issues raised included the possible date of entry into force of the Directive and the revenue issues that the proposal could, if adopted, imply for some countries. Austria reminded the Council of the need to solve the problem of cross border leasing and urged a speedy adoption of this proposal. The forthcoming Luxembourg Presidency stated its intention of making progress on this dossier. Vat - Reduced rates (Ma) At the request of France, Ministers consider the Commission proposal of July 2003 for simplifying the rules on reduced rates of Vat (see Ip/03/1024 and Memo/03/149). Luxembourg stated that the two forthcoming Presidencies, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, intended to give priority to this proposal and that they would shortly present a work programme with a view to arriving at a solution in 2005. Alcohol Taxation (Ma) Over lunch, Commissioner Kovács presented to Ministers the Commission's report on alcohol taxation of May 2004 (see Ip/04/669) and expressed interest in obtaining further reactions from Member States. Company taxation: Report of Code of Conduct Group (Ma) The Council took note of a report (Council document 15317/04) from the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation concerning the implementation by Member States of "standstill" (refraining from introducing any new harmful business tax measures) and "rollback" (amending any laws or practices that are deemed to be harmful in respect of the principles of the Code). For background see Ip/03/787. Company taxation: agreement on improvements to Mergers Directive (see Ip/04/1446) (Ma) Company taxation: adoption of Code of Conduct to eliminate double taxation in cross-border transfer pricing cases (see Ip/04/1447) (Ma) Third Money Laundering Directive – general approach (Od) The Council agreed a general approach to the draft third Directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering and terrorist financing. The Directive was proposed by the Commission in June 2004 (see Ip/04/832). The main purpose is to give the force of Eu law to the revised 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (Fatf) on Money Laundering. The Council’s compromise requires all traders in goods to identify and verify the identity of their customers, report suspicions and record all transactions, whenever a payment is made in cash in excess of €15.000. Commissioner Mccreevy said “Extending reporting requirements to cover large cash transactions by traders in goods will increase transparency and traceability. That is going to make life harder for money launderers and people using cash deals to support terrorism. Along with the rest of the measures in the Eu strategy against terrorist financing, it will help make life safer for the rest of us. I look forward to early discussions in the European Parliament.” Capital Adequacy Directive – general approach (Od) The Council also agreed on a general approach on the Capital Adequacy Directive, (see Ip/04/899, Memo/04/178), which will ensure the coherent application throughout the Eu of the new international capital requirements framework agreed earlier this year by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (‘Basel Ii’). Instead of the current ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, the proposed new framework would consist of three different approaches allowing financial institutions to choose the approach most suited to them: simple, intermediate and advanced. The simple and intermediate approaches would be available by end 2006 (but banks could still opt to apply the current rules until end 2007) and the most advanced approaches from end 2007. Mr Mccreevy said: “This Directive may seem technical. But the bottom line is simple. The Basel Ii Accord seeks to ensure at international level, within as flexible a framework as possible, that financial institutions have sufficient capital to deal with the risks they face. This Directive implements that agreement in a way that suits the Eu. That in turn means European financial institutions will be more efficient, safer and more competitive, which is good for consumers, businesses and our economy. It is expected that the European Parliament will commence its in depth work on this proposal early in the new year”. Statutory Audit Directive – general approach (Od) The Council adopted “a general approach” on the Statutory Audit Directive, proposed by the Commission in March 2004 (Ip/04/340, Memo/04/60). The proposed Directive would clarify the duties of statutory auditors, set out certain ethical principles and ensure external quality assurance, robust public oversight and better co-operation between regulatory authorities in and beyond the Eu. It foresees the use of international standards on auditing for all statutory audits conducted in the Eu. The Directive would create an audit regulatory committee of Member State representatives, so that implementation stays up to date and is coherent across the Eu. Mr Mc Creevy said: “I am very pleased that the Council has agreed an approach that the Commission can support and I hope the Council and the Parliament will now work together and with the Commission to adopt it quickly. Financial statements have to be reliable and investors have to believe that they are reliable. Further strengthening trust in auditors will help create the stable climate of investor confidence that the Eu needs to become more competitive.”
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