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The letter (see attachment below), was prompted by the recent signature by Germany and the UK of bilateral agreements with Switzerland in the area of taxation and financial markets.
"While Member States are free to enter into international agreements, be they bilateral or multilateral, such agreements must not include any aspects which overlap with areas in which common action by the European Union has been taken or is envisaged", Semeta wrote.
A long-delayed revision of an EU savings law, which is still being blocked by Austria and Luxembourg, would widen disclosure requirements to bank accounts held by EU nationals abroad - for instance German and British nationals not paying taxes back home on their Swiss accounts.
"In this context, Member States should refrain from negotiating, initiating, signing or ratifying agreements with Switzerland, or any other third state, insofar as any aspects regulated at EU level might be touched upon", the letter reads.
Germany and the UK have since agreed to renegotiate the agreements and remove these provisions, but Bern has threatened to block other EU-Swiss agreements under way in retaliation. Switzerland is thought to view bilateral tax deals easier than having to deal a potentially more demanding EU pact.