11 July 2002

Pedersen presented Priorities of Danish Presidency

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The Danish Minister for Finance Thor Pedersen came before EP’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and emphasised that the Danish priorities within the Committee’s area fall into the groups of taxes and levies, the internal market for financial services, and a stronger and more efficient economic policy co-operation among EU Member States

It is an important priority for the Danish EU Presidency that the Member States should implement the conclusions reached by the Feira European Council and fully adopt the tax package before the end of 2002.

The Directive on the Taxation of Private Savings Income is to be based on the exchange of information. This exchange is important to ensure that the individual country can accurately calculate the tax of the savings income of its citizens, regardless of whether their savings are placed inside the country concerned or in other countries.

The negotiations on this directive will be difficult, especially with regard to Switzerland. The Danish EU Presidency is concerned about the Swiss position, which traditionally implies a refusal to consider any form of automatic exchange of information. The Danish EU Presidency hopes the Swiss authorities will reconsider their position on this matter.

A well-functioning and efficient internal market for financial services is of great importance for strengthening economic growth and fostering increased employment opportunities in the EU. Therefore, the Danish EU Presidency places great emphasis on making progress with the Financial Services Action Plan.

The Danish EU Presidency will therefore in co-operation with the European Parliament strive to make as much progress as possible on the adoption of EU directives on market abuse, financial conglomerates and supplementary pension schemes.

Stronger and more efficient co-operation on economic policy is an important priority for the Danish EU Presidency. The Presidency therefore gives high priority to effective follow-up on the conclusions of the Barcelona European Council, which called on the Council and the Commission to implement measures to streamline the relevant processes. The Barcelona European Council also determined that the timetables for adopting the broad economic policy guidelines and the employment package are to be synchronised as soon as possible.

© Graham Bishop