ECOFIN

Thursday 19th June 2014 Written Statements

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Nicky Morgan)]

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be held in Luxembourg on 20 June 2014. Ministers will discuss the following items:

Draft general EU budget for 2015

Following the publication of the European Commission’s draft general EU budget for 2015, the financial programme and budget Commissioner will make a presentation to Ministers on the statement of estimates for 2015. The Government view is that at a time when countries across Europe continue to take difficult decisions to deal with deficits, the European Commission should not be asking for a cash increase to the annual budget of almost 5% compared to the agreed 2014 annual budget. The UK will work with other Governments to achieve a budget for 2015 that ensures budget discipline and reflects the economic climate in Europe.

Parent Subsidiary Directive

Council is expected to reach political agreement on an amending directive to the parent subsidiary directive. The Government support the proposed amendment, which will effectively close a tax loophole whereby companies operating across Europe could exploit differences between member states in the tax classification of certain financial instruments in order to reduce their overall tax liability.

Current Legislative Proposals

The presidency will provide an update on the ongoing work on financial services.

Level 2 legislation on bank contributions under Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and the Single Resolution Mechanism

The Commission will brief the Council on the preparation of implementing legislation that will determine the contributions to be paid by banks to resolution funds established under the directive on bank recovery and resolution (BRRD) and the regulation on the single resolution mechanism (SRM).

Code of Conduct (Business taxation)

Ministers will endorse the report on business taxation prepared by the code of conduct group (“the group”). The group reports on business taxation every six months.

European Semester 2014

Ministers will approve recommendations for 26 member states and the euro area as a whole, in preparation for discussions at European Council on 26 and 27 June, and subsequent adoption at ECOFIN on 8 July.

Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact

Council will adopt decisions bringing to an end excessive deficit procedures for six member states.

Also, Ministers will endorse terms of reference on the review of the methodology for assessing effective action in the context of the excessive deficit procedure.

Joint ECB and Commission Convergence Reports (including euro area enlargement)

Euro area member states will adopt a recommendation on the adoption of the euro by Lithuania, in preparation for discussions at European Council on 26 and 27 June, and formal adoption at ECOFIN on 8 July.