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Europaudvalget 2004-05 (1. samling), Finansudvalget 2004-05 (1. samling)
2628 - økofin Bilag 4, FIU Alm.del Bilag 64
Offentligt

Medlemmerne af Folketingets Europaudvalg

og deres stedfortrædere

Bilag

Journalnummer

400.C.2-0

Kontor

EUK

14. december 2004

Til underretning for Folketingets Europaudvalg vedlægges Finansministeriets

redegørelse for rådsmøde (ECOFIN) den 7. december 2004.

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14. decem

12 CHM

Referat fra rådsmødet (ECOFIN) den 7. december 2004

Dagsordenspunkt:

Stabilitets- og Vækstpagten – Statistik for offentlige

finanser i Grækenland

Kommissionen præsenterede sin meddelelse vedrørende årsagerne til revisionerne

af den græske budgetstatistik.

Rådet vedtog konklusioner (vedlagt), der bl.a. konstaterer, at det græske bud-

getunderskud har ligget over referenceværdien på 3 pct. af BNP siden 1997

og udtrykker, at omfanget af revisionerne af græsk statistik er alvorligt i for-

hold til den samlede troværdighed af den multilaterale overvågning. Græken-

land bærer et hovedansvar for sagen, men konklusionerne nævner, at også

Eurostat, Kommissionen, ECB, EFC og Rådet kunne have gjort mere for

henholdsvis at påpege problemerne og være mere opmærksomme på stati-

stikspørgsmål.

Rådet noterede endvidere, at Kommissionen agter at indlede en traktatkrænkelses-

procedure mod Grækenland som en konsekvens af landets ukorrekte statistikindbe-

retninger. På rådsmødet (ECOFIN) i januar 2005 ventes en generel drøftelse af

tiltag, som kan forebygge fremtidige statistikproblemer.

Dagsordenspunkt:

for 2004

Kommissionens og ECB’s konvergensrapporter

Kommissionen og Den Europæiske Centralbank præsenterede hver deres konver-

gensrapporter for 2004. Ministrene tog præsentationen til efterretning og noterede

sig, at trods betydelige fremskridt er der ingen af de nye medlemslande, der lever op

til konvergenskriterierne.

Dagsordenspunkt:

De finansielle perspektiver for 2007-2013

Ministrene havde på baggrund af formandskabets indledende spørgsmål en drøftel-

se af de overordnede budgetmæssige konsekvenser af byggeklodstilgangen samt

budgetmæssige aspekter af de enkelte udgiftskategorier med henblik på Det Euro-

pæiske Råds drøftelse.

Ministrene udtrykte tilfredshed med byggeklodsmetoden, idet den havde klargjort

forhandlingerne og medlemslandenes forskellige positioner. Nogle medlemsstater

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støttede Kommissionens forslag, medens andre ønskede at begrænse udgifterne til

maksimalt 1 pct. af BNI. Der var bred enighed om, at samhørighedspolitikken skal

tage hensyn til de nye medlemsstater.

Dagsordenspunkt:

nansiering

EU’s strategi vedrørende bekæmpelse af terrorfi-

EU’s anti-terrorkoordinator, Gijs de Vries, præsenterede EU’s strategi for bekæm-

pelse af finansiering af terrorisme, som indeholder en status og anbefalinger til

yderligere tiltag til bekæmpelse af terrorfinansiering.

Rådet tog præsentationen til efterretning.

Dagsordenspunkt:

Hvidvaskning af penge

Rådet opnåede politisk enighed om direktivet om forebyggende foranstaltninger

mod anvendelse af det finansielle system til hvidvask af penge og terrorfinansiering

(3. hvidvaskdirektiv).

Formel vedtagelse af direktivet ventes at finde sted på et kommende rådsmøde som

a-punkt efter, at Europaparlamentet har taget stilling til sagen.

Dagsordenspunk:

Finansielle tjenesteydelser – Direktiv om kapital-

krav til kreditinstitutter og investeringsselskaber (Basel II)

Rådet opnåede politisk enighed om direktiverne vedrørende kapitalkrav til kreditin-

stitutter og investeringsselskaber (Basel II), der indgår som en del af den finansielle

handlingsplan fra 1998.

Formel vedtagelse af direktivet ventes at finde sted på et kommende rådsmøde som

a-punkt efter, at Europaparlamentet har taget stilling til sagen.

Dagsordenspunkt:

Finansielle tjenesteydelser – Direktiv om

revision af årsregnskaber og koncernregn-

skaber

Rådet opnåede politisk enighed om direktivet vedrørende lovpligtig revision af

regnskaber og koncernregnskaber (8. selskabsdirektiv).

Formel vedtagelse af direktivet ventes at finde sted på et kommende rådsmøde som

a-punkt efter, at Europaparlamentet har taget stilling til sagen.

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Dagsordenspunkt:

Bedre regulering – opfølgning på fælles initiativ

om reform af reguleringen

Formandskabet gav en status for arbejdet med bedre regulering. Det kommende

formandskab (Luxembourg) oplyste, at man ville arbejde videre med sagen.

Dagsordenspunkt:

Direktiv om nedsat moms

Rådet noterede, at de to kommende formandskaber (Luxembourg og UK) vil prio-

ritere arbejdet med direktivet om nedsat moms og snarest muligt fremlægge et ar-

bejdsprogram herfor.

Dagsordenspunkt:

Direktiv om grænseoverskridende salg af tjeneste-

ydelser til erhvervskunder

Rådet drøftede direktivet vedrørende grænseoverskridende salg af tjenesteydelser til

erhvervskunder herunder spørgsmålet om leasing af køretøjer. Punktet ventes at

blive behandlet igen under det kommende formandskab.

A-punkter

Rådet vedtog uden drøftelse følgende a-punkter: direktiv om fusionsskat, rentebe-

skatningsaftale med Monaco, finansiel assistance til Serbien, Montenegro, Bosnien

og Hercegovina, kvartalsvise nationalregnskaber, adfærdskodeks til voldgiftskon-

ventionen, adfærdskodeks for selskabsbeskatning (se vedlagte rådskonklusioner),

sager om momsundtagelser for UK, Frankrig, Spanien og Italien, rapport vedrøren-

de finansiel regulering, tilsyn og stabilitet (se vedlagte rådskonklusioner) samt for-

længelse af mandat for EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum (se vedlagte rådskonklusi-

oner).

Diverse

Ministrene havde under frokosten en drøftelse af Kommissionens rapport vedrø-

rende alkoholafgifter.

Endvidere drøftede ministrene EU’s procedure i forhold til ’Clearing House’, her-

under indefrysning af personers og organisationers midler, som et led i bekæmpelse

af terrorfinansiering.

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Bilag

Rådskonklusioner vedrørende græsk budgetdata

“The figures on the budget deficit and public debt of Greece for the period since

1997, as set out in the final report by Eurostat, confirm that, on the basis of

ESA95, the budget deficits have been consistently above the reference value since

1997 and that the debt to GDP ratio has not diminished and approached the refer-

ence value as required by Article 104 of the Treaty. The Council acknowledges the

initiative of the Greek government and its close co-operation with Eurostat to settle

long-standing open questions on budget statistics and to bring them in line with the

ESA 95 requirements. The scope and size of the past revisions in the Greek case

are unprecedented and very serious, particularly as regards the overall credibility of

the multilateral surveillance framework.

Reliable and timely statistics are essential for economic policy-making and multilat-

eral surveillance and a crucial precondition for effective Council decision-making.

The ministers therefore welcome the Commission report on accountability, which

sets out the Commission's analysis of responsibility for the persistent failings in the

provision and verification of accurate data.

First, the report makes it clear that the Greek statistical authorities have for a long

time not provided accurate information to Eurostat. They also suffered from a se-

rious lack of capacity to provide the required data. Ministers urge the Greek author-

ities to draw the necessary conclusions.

Second, the Council regards it as another serious cause for concern that, as the re-

port acknowledges, Eurostat validated the critical March 2000 EDP notification

data of Greece, in spite of significant open issues related to the fiscal data.

Third, the Commission's and the ECB’s Convergence Reports failed to emphasise

to the Council potential problems with regard to Greek budgetary statistics.

Fourth, while it is the primary responsibility of the Commission to assess the data

provided by Member States, the EFC and the Council could have paid greater at-

tention to the quality of the data reported by each government.

The Council takes note of the Commission’s decision to launch an infringement

procedure as a practical consequence of its accountability report.

The Council will return to the issue of how to improve the governance in the Eu-

ropean statistical system early next year.”

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Rådskonklusioner vedrørende adfærdskodeks for selskabsbeskatning

"The Council

Welcomes the progress achieved by the Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxa-

tion) as set out in its report (doc. 15317/04 FISC 249).

Notes that the descriptions in Annex 2 of doc. 15317/04 FISC 249 form an agreed

basis for the evaluation of rollback.

Notes that the Code of Conduct Group has considered the proposed revised or

replacementmeasures of the measures mentioned in annex 2 (B) of doc. 15317/04

FISC 249 against the established criteria of the Code of Conduct and has found

that none of these are harmful within the meaning of the Code.

Agrees that the proposed revised or replacement measures mentioned in Annex 2

(B) of doc. 15317/04 FISC 249 are adequate to achieve rollback of all the harmful

features of the measures.

Agrees to an extension of benefits beyond the end of 2005 as set out in paragraph

37 of the Code of Conduct Group’s report (doc. 15317/04 FISC 249).

Asks the Group to continue monitoring standstill and the implementation of roll-

back and report to the Council before the end of the Luxembourg Presidency."

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Rådskonklusioner vedrørende finansiel regulering, tilsyn og stabilitet

"The Council reviewed the various recommendations of the 2002 EFC Report on

financial regulation,

supervision

and stability. It welcomes the progress achieved

in the follow-up to these particularly in three areas:

The Extension of the Lamfalussy Framework to all sectors

The Council welcomes especially the establishment of the Committee

of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) and the Committee of Eur o-

pean Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS). It

notes that the new committees are already contributing to regulatory

preparations, supervisory co-operation, convergence of supervisory

practices, and the assessment of financial stability. It notes that the new

committees have established general principles of co-operation and en-

courages them to ensure co-ordinated approaches where necessary. The

Council welcomes also the Commission’s continued efforts towards

further improvements to the Lamfalussy framework by enhancing

transparency and involving relevant parties in the legislative process.

The Council expects the extension of the Lamfalussy structure to all f i-

nancial sectors be implemented rapidly after its formal adoption.

In the light of the ongoing developments and trends in EU financial markets,

and considering that the committee structure at level 3 does not cover explic-

itly financial conglomerates, the Council invites the Financial Conglomerates

Committee and the Commission to clarify how advice on financial conglom-

erates will be provided in the regulatory process.

Financial Services Committee

The Council welcomes the substantial value added to date by the FSC

in providing strategic reflection, oversight and advice on a range of i s-

sues, including, in particular, on the future financial integration stra te-

gy, and on stability and crisis management, which has helped Ministers

to determine further policy actions. The ongoing developments in the

financial markets will impact on the workload ahead, which will require

considerable efforts by finance ministries and the FSC. The Commi s-

sion and FSC members are invited to ensure that necessary expertise in

the various relevant areas of FSC’s work is being provided.

For the FSC’s future work, the Council suggests that it should focus in

2005 on: (i) continuing to improve the arrangements for crisis ma n-

agement, by developing, in cooperation with representatives of the ce n-

tral banks and supervisors, a proposal for a Memorandum of Unde r-

standing on crisis management and a crisis simulation exercise; (ii)

providing strategic overview on how the EU framework for financial

regulation and supervision should be developed over the next few years

from the finance ministries’ viewpoint; and (iii) assessing the Commi s-

sion’s forthcoming Communication outlining its

future financial services strategy.

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The EFC’s Financial Stability Table

The Council also welcomes the regular assessments of financial stability and

recommendations for policy action in key areas of work undertaken regularly

by the EFC in its Financial Stability Table format. This format usefully brings

together high-level representatives of EU finance ministries, central banks

and supervisors, as well as the Commission.

Considering the ongoing developments in the EU’s financial markets, the

Council invites the relevant parties, particularly the level 3 committees, in

their joint assessments, to cover cross-border and cross-sector issues in a sys-

tematic and comprehensive manner.

The Council invites the EFC to continue to report on these issues at least on

a semi-annual basis to the informal meetings of ministers and central bank

governors.

Next steps

Finally, in light of the review presented above, the Council reaffirms

the need for a thorough evaluation of the Lamfalussy framework's ap-

plication to all sectors when substantial experience with the framework

has been gained. In this context, the Council recalls that all elements of

the Lamfalussy framework shall be monitored regularly to ensure the

new structure to be rapidly implemented. The next review of the

framework shall take place in spring 2006."

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Rådskonklusioner vedrørende udvidelse af mandat for EU Joint Transfer

Pricing Forum

"The Council welcomes the decision of the Commission to prolong the work of

the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum (hereafter JTPF) for a period of 2 years as of

1 January 2005.

The Council endorses and fully supports the work of the JTPF in examining the

practical problems related to the application of the tax rules on transfer pricing in

the Internal Market.

The Council is pleased with the first report of the JTPF of December 2003, that the

Commission transmitted through its Communication of 23 April 2004 and the pro-

posal for a code of conduct for the effective implementation of the arbitration con-

vention to be approved by the Council of 7 December 2004.

The Council takes note that the JTPF intends to formally adopt its working pro-

gramme for 2005 and 2006 at its next Meeting scheduled for 14 December 2004,

whereby the draft working program consists of issues carried over from the 2002

work program as well as new identified issues.

The Council agrees that the Forum should continue its work on the same basis as

agreed at the moment it was established.

This means that the work of the JTPF would be consistent with and complement

the OECD "Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax

Administrations" which form the fundamental global framework for transfer pric-

ing on the wider international scale.

The work of the JTPF should not hamper more global solutions with that particular

OECD framework. Equally, the JTPF should neither interfere with, nor hamper

the work undertaken in other institutional groups discussing tax matters such as the

Code of Conduct Group."