ECOFIN: 8 December 2015

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Written Statements

[The First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be held in Brussels on 8 December 2015. Ministers are due to discuss the following items:

Financial Transaction Tax

An update on the progress of implementing a financial transaction tax in participating member states will be provided. Britain is not taking part in the financial transaction tax.

Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB)

Following a presentation by the presidency on the state of play regarding the CCCTB proposal, the Council will have an exchange of views.

Completing the Banking Union

A presentation will be given by the Commission on the proposal for a European deposit insurance scheme and the Commission communication “Towards Completion of the Banking Union”. This will be followed by an exchange of views.

Current Legislative Proposals

The presidency will update the Council on the state of play of financial services dossiers.

Implementation of the Banking Union

The Commission will give an update on several dossiers linked to the banking union: the single resolution fund, the bank recovery and resolution directive and the deposit guarantee scheme directive.

Fight against the financing of terrorism

After taking note of a Commission presentation on the next steps to reinforce the European framework in the fight against terrorism, the Council will hold an exchange of views.

Future of the Code of Conduct (Business Taxation)

The Council will be invited to adopt conclusions on the future of the code of conduct group on business taxation.

Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)

The Council will be invited to adopt conclusions on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in the EU context.

European Semester

Following the publication of the annual growth survey, the Commission alert mechanism report and the draft Council recommendation on the euro area, a presentation will be given by the Commission followed by an exchange of views.

Common position on flexibility in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)

A debrief will be provided by the chair of the Economic and Financial Committee on the common position agreed with regards to flexibility in the SGP for short-term economic conditions, structural reforms and public investments.

Statistics: EU Statistics and implementation of the European Statistics Code of Practice

Council conclusions will be adopted on the annual statistical package followed by a Commission presentation on the implementation of the European statistics code of best practices.

European Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implantation of the budget for the EU for the financial year 2014

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) will present its report on the implementation of the 2014 budget followed by an exchange of views by the Council.

[HCWS365]