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Financial Transaction Tax
The Council was informed of developments regarding the possible introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT), via enhanced cooperation, in a limited number of Member States. The Commission indicated that it had received letters from seven Member States requesting a proposal to that effect (Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia), and four delegations announced that they would shortly follow suit (Estonia, Spain, Italy and Slovakia).
The Commission in 2011 proposed a Directive aimed at introducing an EU-wide FTT, but a Council discussion on 22 June this year revealed insufficient support for the proposal. Formal requirements for enhanced cooperation are laid down in article 20 of the Treaty on European Union and articles 326 to 334 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. A decision to authorise enhanced cooperation is taken by the Council "as a last resort" once it has established that the objectives cannot be attained within a reasonable period by the EU as a whole, and provided that at least nine Member States participate (article 20(2) TEU).
They must submit a request to the Commission, specifying the scope and the objectives of the enhanced cooperation, and the Commission may submit a proposal to the Council to that effect. Authorisation to proceed with the enhanced cooperation can be granted by the Council, via qualified majority vote, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament (article 329(1) TFEU). The substance of the enhanced cooperation must be agreed unanimously by the participating Member States. (See separate statement on FTT from Commissioner Šemeta.)
Bank Capital Requirements
The Council was informed by the presidency of the state of negotiations with the European Parliament on two proposals – the so-called "CRD IV" package – amending the EU's rules on capital requirements for banks and investment firms. It held an exchange of views. The Council confirmed its intention to reach a political agreement on the package before the end of the year. A number of issues have yet to be resolved in the negotiations with the Parliament.
The two proposals set out to amend and replace the existing capital requirement directives1 by two new legislative instruments: a Regulation establishing prudential requirements that institutions need to respect, and a Directive governing access to deposit-taking activities. They are aimed at transposing into EU law the so-called "Basel III" agreement, concluded by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and approved by the G20 in November 2010.
European Semester - Review of Implementation
The Council took stock of possible changes to the process followed in the European Semester monitoring exercise in order to address key challenges better. The European Semester involves simultaneous monitoring of the Member States' economic, fiscal and employment policies during a six-month period every year. It was first organised in 2011. Although the outcome of this year's exercise was considered satisfactory overall, implementation is now being reviewed with the aim of improving it further.
The Council discussed how to tackle issues such as time constraints, implementation of the "comply or explain rule" (introduced as part of the EU's new economic governance framework, the "six pack"), how to strengthen the sense of ownership by Member States, and how to ensure that recommendations are concrete enough whilst allowing Member States to make their own policy choices.
The General Affairs Council and the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council have also discussed possible improvements in the light of lessons learned. The review will be concluded in December, when the 2013 European Semester will be launched.
Portugal - Financial Support and Excessive Deficit Procedure - see separate press release.
Current legislative proposals
The Council was informed by the presidency of developments with regard to proposals on: