EU ministers to discuss competitiveness

Tonio Fenech, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, is in Luxembourg to participate in the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers (Ecofin) of the 25 member states of the European Union.

The meeting will be held today when the council is expected to cover EU economic and financial policy in a number of areas.

Among the areas is the Savings Tax Directive which will enable the introduction of withholding taxes on income from bank accounts belonging to EU citizens and held in countries such as Switzerland, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra and other "tax havens" and offshore account territories.

The ministers will discuss growth and stability oriented economic policies and reforms aimed at increasing the competitiveness of EU member states. This includes job creation, job market efficiency, tax and benefit systems, labour mobility and other related reforms.

Also on the agenda is the better integration of financial markets within the EU with the objective of delivering substantial economic benefits to the member states. This includes the examination of issues in the financial industry such as retail payments, clearing and settlement, electronic financial services, consumer protection and taxation issues that affect financial services.

Another topic of discussion will be International Accounting Standards (IAS) across member states to eliminate barriers of cross-border trading in securities by ensuring that company accounts throughout the EU are more reliable and transparent and that they can be more easily compared. The aim here is to improve market efficiency and reduce the cost of raising capital for companies.

Prior to the Ecofin council meeting, Mr Fenech will also represent Malta on the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank in their annual meeting.