EU economy ministers will meet in Brussels on 7 September to discuss introducing an EU-wide Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) and a Financial Activities Tax (FAT), "on the basis of a non-paper" presented by the European Commission, according to the draft.
"We will present a very objective and neutral discussion paper," EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta's spokeswoman confirmed to EurActiv.
"We intend to show the potential positive and negative effects of these taxations on Europe," the spokeswoman added.
If taxes are only implemented in the European Union and not worldwide by Europe's main financial competitors, EU finance will be put at a major disadvantage.
The Group of 20 most industrialised nations (G20), which includes the US, China, India, Russia and Brazil, has already criticised the idea of an FTT, but it seems to be less reluctant to accept the possibility of a FAT.
The EU will push its partners to adopt global rules on financial taxes, especially during the upcoming French presidency of the G20, which starts in 2011 (EurActiv 26/08/10). But "we cannot force our partners to follow," warned one Commission official.
Nevertheless, Europe could press on alone regardless. Some benefits are expected to result from the introduction of financial taxes. "They could be a valuable source of revenue for member states," Šemeta's spokeswoman underlined.
Belgium, which is currently chairing the EU, intends to push for some form of financial taxation.
Indeed, the taxes could even represent a source of revenue for the European Union itself, resolving a long-standing debate on the EU's own financial sources. But member states are a long way from reaching agreement on this idea. The economy ministers are thus likely to approach the issue from the point of view of a national source of revenue, at least during their next meeting.
EU bank levy
Ministers will also discuss a bank levy to be charged as a kind of insurance against the risk of failing financial institutions. The measure would be based on the 'polluter pays' principle, insisted EU Financial Affairs Commissioner Michel Barnier when he proposed the bank fund last May.
Although many EU countries are in favour of the levy, including Germany, which is planning to introduce it unilaterally, the arguments against the measure are also very strong. They became stronger when the G20 clearly opposed such an initiative at global level in Toronto last June.
The ministers will thus have to decide whether the levy would only be applicable in the European Union. "This is the moment to act," said the spokesperson for EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.
Indeed, with Berlin planning to go ahead on its own if no common decision is taken, the risk of distorting competition - even within the EU itself - becomes even greater.
