The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)
A meeting of The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) was held in Brussels on 23 May 2017. EU Finance Ministers discussed the following items:
Annual EIB Governors meeting
There was a meeting of the EIB Governors preceding ECOFIN. This entailed a speech by the EIB President Werner Hoyer, a Governors discussion and approval of the audit report.
Early morning session
The Eurogroup President briefed Ministers on the outcomes of the 22 May meeting of the Eurogroup. Ministers then discussed the current economic situation.
Dispute resolution mechanism
Ministers agreed the general approach to the proposal for a Council directive on double taxation dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union. The UK supported this measure. The proposal aims to establish a common dispute resolution regime for EU taxpayers at risk of double taxation.
Common corporate tax base
Ministers held an orientation debate on the proposal for a Council directive on a Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB). The CCTB proposal suggests establishing a common set of rules across the EU for calculating companies’ taxable profits.
Current financial service legislative proposals
The Council presidency provided an update on current legislative proposals in the field of financial services.
Movement of capital
Ministers had an exchange of views on a report by the Economic and Finance Committee (EFC) on the movement of capital and the freedom of payments, and a report by the European Commission on accelerating the capital markets union.
European semester 2017
Ministers endorsed Council conclusions on the in-depth reviews of macroeconomic imbalances in certain member states carried out by the European Commission as part of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure in 2017. The UK was not subject to an in-depth review in 2017.
Follow-up to the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on 20 April 2017 and the IMF and World Bank spring meetings on 21-23 April 2017 in Washington
The presidency and the Commission informed Ministers on the outcomes of the G20, IMF and World Bank meetings.
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