This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Savings Tax Directive Documents'.



 
Ref. Ares(2014)352804 - 12/02/2014
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL  
TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION 
 
 
Brussels, 4 February 2014 
Taxud.d2(2014) 3784720 
REPORT OF MEETING 
 
1. Meeting: 
Council – High Level Working Party on Tax Questions 
2. Subject: 
3. FATCA – Information Point; 4. Savings Directive – The Way 
Forward. 
3. Date and Place: 
4th February 2014, Brussels 
4. Participants: 
 
 
 (TAXUD.D2).  
5. Detailed report: 
Agenda item n. 3 - FATCA 
Pres explained that the item was aimed at allowing Member States to share information 
on how FATCA negotiations with the US are progressing. Pres has circulated, in advance 
of the meeting, a table to be completed by each Member State which indicates the type of 
Model agreement chosen, the date of signature/ratification/entry into force of the 
agreement and possible remarks. Contributions provided by Member States have been 
put together by Pres in Room Document #6, a revised version of which (REV1 – in 
Annex) was circulated yesterday. 
 
 
. Pres invited Member States to share their experience with each other.  
 
.  
PL  noted that most Member States have already signed or are negotiating a FATCA 
Model 1 agreement. PL initialled a FATCA Model 1 agreement with the US last 
September but is still waiting to sign it due to the long time that the US State Department 
is taking to check the Polish translation of the agreement. PL complained about the US’s 
behavior and wanted to know from other Member States whether they experienced the 
same problems with having the translations of the agreements checked by the US. 
ES  informed the other Member States that the US/ES FATCA agreement has recently 
entered into force and will be published soon. 
DE  said that the US/DE FATCA agreement is already in force and that domestic 
implementing rules as well as a regulation for financial institutions will be put into place 
soon. In response to the question raised by PL, DE said that also the US/DE FATCA 
agreement took some time to be checked by the US State Department. 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COM  thanked Pres for having put FATCA on the meeting agenda and also thanked 
Member States for having provided an update on how they are progressing with FATCA 
agreements. COM found it very helpful for Member States to continue to share 
information on this topic. COM noted that while several Member States have already 
signed an agreement with the US or are close to doing so, for some Member States 
negotiations with the US are at a less advanced stage. In this respect, COM recalled that 
the US, in Notice 2013-43, clarified that in order for a jurisdiction to be treated as having 
a FATCA agreement in effect, it is sufficient that the jurisdiction signs a FATCA 
agreement before 1 July 2014. COM restated that it would be very happy to assist 
Member States with any issue they may have during the negotiations. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
, COM recalled to Member States 
that the US legal and infrastructure framework should not only ensure the confidentiality 
of the data exchange but also comply with EU rules on data protection.  
COM  welcomed the clarity on the timetable provided by the 
 and restated that the 
best means of implementing the global standard within the EU is through an EU 
instrument, notably the COM proposal to revise the Directive on Administrative 
Cooperation. COM said that it was happy with the progress made in the Council’s 
discussions on this proposal and that these discussions should continue in parallel with 
discussions at OECD level.  
IT  pointed out that the timeline for implementing the global standard should remain 
ambitious and explained that the G5 proposal to push it a little forward was aimed at 
having a critical mass of countries on board. IT said that it is very important that this 
critical mass of countries includes all EU MS.  
 Agenda item n. 4 - Savings Directive 
Pres opened the item by presenting the contents of Room Doc #5 (in Annex) to the 
meeting and inviting views from the floor. 
DE noted that as the file had been on-going for years, the time was ripe for adoption. The 
EU needed to send a signal to the rest of the world that it meant business. 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
IT agreed with the need for the EU to send a clear message. This was also an issue of EU 
credibility as well as being an important issue of resources for Member States. Action 
was required by ECOFIN. Alignment with the DAC was obviously necessary, but this 
should follow adoption, after February ECOFIN. 
ES agreed with IT and also highlighted the importance of making rapid progress in the 
negotiations with the third countries. 
FR supported all speakers and said that adoption by the end of March was vital for the 
credibility of the European Council. 
PL supported all speakers and went a step further saying that if there was no adoption by 
the end of March, the EU would be blamed for its lack of action. 
LU congratulated the 
 on the points it had made, notably the need for one coherent 
global standard, the importance of international developments at the OECD and 
elsewhere, the need to avoid duplication to achieve efficiencies and the need to achieve a 
level playing field (a particular concern of LU in recent months). 
 
. The call of the December European Council was for the 
Commission to present a progress report to its March meeting. In those circumstances, it 
would be wrong for ECOFIN to take any decision before that EC meeting which might 
prejudice the view that the EC might wish to take on the COM’s progress report. 
Specifically, in the case of LU, the new Prime Minister had subscribed to the December 
EC conclusions and it would be wrong for the new Finance Minister to prejudice the PM 
by adopting revised Savings at ECOFIN, before the PM had considered the COM 
progress report in a EC context, particularly as LU has a coalition government. Member 
States may put what they wish on the ECOFIN agenda’s for February or March, but LU 
will not adopt the revised Directive at either meeting. 
COM thanked the Pres for its hard work on the file and said it would respond to MSs 
who had emphasised the need to know the status of the negotiations with the five. It gave 
a chronological rundown of events, from the granting of the EU mandate, to the visits to 
the five made by the Commissioner, to the holding of preliminary technical meetings and 
the consideration thereat and in writing of technical detail, notably relating to beneficial 
ownership. Following receipt by the five of formal mandates, first round discussions 
have been held and second (& in the case of CH, third) round discussions have been 
organised. Automatic exchange has been the COM requirement throughout and it is clear, 
even from international developments, that all 5 are moving in this direction. Regarding 
CH, it is clear that its Rubik-style agreements are outdated and no longer relevant. CH 
has made it known that it sees the outcome as being time dependant, with the quick-fix 
option comprising of an agreement based on the Savings amending proposal, but without 
automatic exchange, whereas the longer term option could be based on automatic 
exchange and a wider scope. The COM sees automatic exchange as the goal and is 
pursuing continued equivalence, in accordance with our mandate, having regard to the 
emerging global standard. The outlook is very positive. COM will report to the March 
EC, but hopes to be able to inform the earlier March ECOFIN of the substance of its 
progress. 


COM referred to the calls of MSs to adopt the revised Directive and endorsed those 
calls, adding a substantial point. In view of the agreement that alignment was required 
between EU measures and the global standard, for clarity and the avoidance of doubt, 
COM recommended putting a second matter, in parallel, on the ECOFIN agenda – ie to 
ask the ECOFIN Ministers to announce their agreement to adopting the global standard 
emerging at OECD level by incorporating it into EU legislation, paying particular 
attention to achieving consistency between its provisions and those of the Directive on 
the Taxation of Savings and the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, including their 
amending proposals. This would give clarity to operators within the EU and would 
strengthen the negotiating position of COM, as well as confirming its negotiating 
objectives. Accordingly COM called for two outcomes from ECOFIN; adoption and 
orientation. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
. In closing, LU recalled 
that when its delegation met last week with Commissioner Semeta, it annnounced that it 
would welcome the Commissioner giving an “information” presentation to March 
ECOFIN on progress in the negotiations, which would be helpful to pave the way 
towards a favourable outcome at the March European Council and that Commissioner 
Semeta seemed satisfied to take this approach. In that event, the LU Finance Minister 
would welcome being able to report to his PM that negotiations were progressing 
satisfactorily, but it should be noted that adoption at February or March ECOFIN is out 
of the question. 
Pres  said it would carefully consider the positions with a view to coming back to the 
topic at tomorrow’s Coreper. 
 
Report by 
 (TAXUD.D2). 


 
Circulation 
Cabinet of Mr. Šemeta: Mr Moutarlier  
                                           Mr. Zourek, 
 
Mr Kermode 
 
                                           TAXUD.D2 list 
 
 
ANNEX 
Presidency Note to HLWP of 4 February 2014 
 
 
1. 
Momentum to move forward 
 
 
The European Council in its conclusions of 19/20 December 2013 called for the 
adoption of the revised Directive on the taxation of savings income by March 2014. 
 
 
The Presidency's view is that in the current international economic climate it is 
important to arrive at a satisfactory solution for all 28 Member States, enabling 
them to safeguard their tax revenues in respect of undeclared savings hidden 
abroad. Moreover, as the perils of offshore tax evasion have received increased 
public scrutiny, it is imperative that the EU retains its leading role in the combat of 
tax fraud and evasion, by adopting a comprehensive legal framework for the 
effective taxation of savings within the EU. 
 
 
The momentum within the EU corresponds to other important developments, which 
are confirming the global trend towards automatic exchange of information, such 
as: 
 
− The call for more transparency in tax matters, as highlighted in a Joint Statement 
made by a large number of jurisdictions. It aims at an early adoption of the 
global standard of automatic exchange, to be developed and endorsed in the 
OECD context. 
 
− The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax 
Purposes, continues to play an important role in relation to efforts mentioned 
in the above Joint Statement. 


 
− The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) promoting automatic 
exchange of information on financial accounts has had concrete consequences 
for financial and banking sectors in many countries. As far as the EU is 
concerned, negotiations of all 28 Member States with the US administration 
are ongoing in relation to FATCA. The starting date for the application of 
FATCA provisions is approaching. The first report of information is due in 
2015, for information about accounts maintained during 2014. 
 
2. 
Submission to Council (ECOFIN) 
 
Against this background, the Presidency intends to submit the revised Savings 
Directive to the  Council (ECOFIN) in line with the request by the European 
Council of December 2013 to adopt it by March 2014. 
 
3. 
Preparation by the HLWP 
 
 
In preparation of the submission of the file to ECOFIN, Member States are invited 
to express their views on the way forward at the HLWP on 4 February 2014. 
 


Document Outline