Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

Europaudvalget 2008-09
2911 - Økofin Bilag 6
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2911 - Økofin - Bilag 6

8. december 2008

Referat af økonomi- og finansministermøde (ECOFIN) den 2. decem-

ber 2008 til Folketingets Europaudvalg

Dagsordenspunkt 1

Forberedelse af Det Europæiske Råd den 11.-12. decem-

ber 2008

ECOFIN nåede til enighed om et bidrag til DER den 11.-12. december 2008. Bidraget

omhandler bl.a. koordinerede økonomisk-politiske tiltag med henblik på at styrke

vækst og beskæftigelse i EU under fortsat hensynstagen til finanspolitisk holdbarhed.

EU-landene var enige i, at evt. kortsigtede nationale initiativer bør være midlertidige og

målrettede og tage hensyn til landespecifikke udfordringer og behov. ECOFIN var

endvidere enig i, at kortsigtede tiltag skal gennemføres i overensstemmelse med mel-

lemfristede finanspolitiske strategier og fortsat implementering af strukturelle refor-

mer. Herudover vedrører ECOFIN’s bidrag til DER finansiel stabilitet og finansielt

tilsyn, og det videre arbejde i forhold til EU’s handlingsplan og opfølgning på G20-

mødet.

Forud for ECOFIN konstaterede formandskabet, at der var opnået enighed om de

finansielle sager på dagsordenen for ECOFIN vedrørende kapitalkravsdirektivet, Sol-

vens II, direktivet om investeringsinstitutter (UCITS) samt direktivet om indskyderga-

rantiordninger og lagde op til, at disse punkter kunne godkendes som a-punkter. På

ECOFIN var der imidlertid alligevel en drøftelse af Solvens II, herunder vedrørende

gruppetilsyn, gruppestøtte og muligheden for at udjævne svingninger i aktiekurser i

forsikrings- og pensionsselskaber, samt af UCITS. Der blev opnået enighed om en

generel tilgang for samtlige finansielle sager med henblik på videre forhandling med

Europa-Parlamentet. ECOFIN ventes herefter endeligt at vedtage direktiverne

Dagsordenspunkt 3a

Dagsordenspunkt 2

Finansielle tjenesteydelser

ECOFIN drøftede Kommissionens forslag vedrørende nedsatte momssatser. Forsla-

get lægger op til, at alle lande permanent kan anvende nedsat moms for såkaldt ar-

bejdskraftintensive ydelser, og at listen over berørte ydelser udvides. ECOFIN nåede

ikke til enighed om forslaget.

Dagsordenspunkt 3b

Moms på finansielle tjenesteydelser og forsikringstjene-

steydelser

Nedsat moms

Dagsordenspunktet blev behandlet som et a-punkt. Formandskabets fremskridtsrap-

port, som giver en status for arbejdet i rådsarbejdsgruppen vedrørende direktivforsla-

get om moms på finansielle og forsikringstjenesteydelser, blev godkendt uden drøftel-

se.

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

ECOFIN tog Kommissionens rapport om de første tre års erfaringer med rentebe-

skatningsdirektivet til efterretning og vedtog konklusioner, der støtter videre arbejde

med Kommissionens forslag til justeringer i direktivet. De foreslåede justeringer ved-

rører bl.a. udvidelse af definitionen af rentebetalinger og reduktion af muligheden for

at omgå direktivet.

ECOFIN drøftede rapporten fra adfærdskodeksgruppen for erhvervsbeskatning om

det fortsatte arbejde med at overvåge, om nyindførte skatteordninger i EU-landene er i

overensstemmelse med kodeksen. ECOFIN tog rapporten til efterretning.

Dagsordenspunkt 3e

Dagsordenspunkt 3d

Adfærdskodeks for erhvervsbeskatning

Dagsordenspunkt 3c

Rentebeskatningsdirektivet

ECOFIN vedtog rådskonklusioner, der opstiller retningslinjer for medlemslandenes

exitskatteregler, uden drøftelse.

Dagsordenspunkt 4

Exitbeskatning

Revisionsrettens formand præsenterede årsrapporten for 2007 for ECOFIN, og

ECOFIN tog præsentationen til efterretning. Rapporten vil blive behandlet i Rådets

budgetgruppe, hvorefter udkast til Rådets dechargehenstilling forventes at blive fore-

lagt ECOFIN på mødet i februar 2009.

Revisionsrettens årsberetning 2007

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

Bilag

Rådskonklusioner vedr. indskydergarantiordninger

The Council arrived at a general approach on a draft Directive aimed at

tightening up the rules on bank deposit guarantee schemes in order to im-

prove confidence in the banking sector (16030/08 +COR 1).

On the basis of this approach, the Presidency will continue its contacts with

the European Parliament in order to reach an agreement enabling the Di-

rective to be adopted at first reading, before the end of the parliamentary

term.

The draft Directive seeks to ensure better protection for savers by amend-

ing Directive 94/19/EC.

Deposit guarantee schemes are intended to prevent panic reactions by

savers if a bank is experiencing difficulties or loses public confidence.

The Council's general approach provides for:

– raising the deposit guarantee level to EUR 50 000, rather than the

present EUR 20 000, from 30 June 2009 and harmonising the level

at EUR 100 000 from 31 December 2011

That harmonisation should

make it possible to avoid the distortion of competition among banks

which appeared during the financial crisis (in the form of massive

deposit transfers from banks affiliated to a scheme offering a low

coverage level to banks affiliated to a scheme offering a high cover-

age level);

– a period of five working days to establish that a credit institution has

failed to repay deposits which are due and payable, and of 20 work-

ing days, subject to extension by 10 working days, to make the re-

payment. The corresponding periods are at present 21 working days

and three months, subject to two three-month extensions. Overall,

the payout period could not exceed 35 working days, compared with

10 months at present.

The European Parliament's vote is expected during the week of 15 Decem-

ber.

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

Rådskonklusioner vedr. kapitalkravsdirektivet

The Council worked out a general approach on a draft Directive aimed at

tightening up the rules on own funds requirements for banks (16216/08).

On the basis of this approach, the Presidency will continue its contacts with

the European Parliament in order to reach an agreement enabling the Di-

rective to be adopted at first reading, before the end of the parliamentary

term.

The Council's general approach amends Directives 2006/48/EC and

2006/49/EC

in five respects:

– Strengthened supervision of cross-border banking groups

(a) deci-

sions relating to risk assessment and additional capital requirements

would be closely coordinated between the supervisor of the parent

undertaking and the supervisors of its subsidiaries; (b) reporting re-

quirements would be fully harmonised at European level in 2012; (c)

colleges of supervisors, chaired by the supervisor of the parent un-

dertaking, would be established for all cross-border groups; (d) the

role of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS)

would be strengthened; (e) the mandates of national supervisory au-

thorities should be given a European dimension;

– framework for securitisation practices: as a response to the faults of

the "originate to distribute" model revealed by the financial crisis, due

diligence and transparency obligations imposed on the originators of

securitisation operations and on investors would be strengthened.

Investors should be able to assess the risks involved in structured

products otherwise than solely by means of the rating given by

agencies. Alongside these qualitative requirements, the draft adds

one quantitative one – the obligation for originators to retain 5 % of

risks transferred or sold to investors on their balance sheet – whose

purpose is to increase incentives to conduct better risk assessment;

– harmonisation of the classification of banks' tier 1 capital funds and

hybrid instruments, with a central role given to the CEBS in ensuring

greater uniformity of supervisors' practices in this area;

– introduction of rules on liquidity risk management, in particular as re-

gards setting up liquid asset reserves, conducting liquidity stress

tests and establishing contingency plans;

– tighter supervision of exposure to a single counterparty ("large expo-

sures"): the text establishes arrangements which place a greater re-

striction on the extent of exposure to a single counterparty, whatever

its nature, including when it is a bank (in all cases, the limit is 25 % of

banks' own funds). Within the current framework, concentration limits

for bank counterparties are less restrictive than for "undertaking"

counterparties, yet the financial crisis has shown that bank counter-

parties also present a risk of default.

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

The European Parliament's vote is expected next April.

Rådskonklusioner vedr. Solvens II

The Council worked out a general approach on a draft Directive laying

down new solvency rules for insurance companies ("Solvency II" Directive)

(16237/08 + COR 1).

On the basis of this approach, the Presidency will continue its contacts with

the European

Parliament in order to reach an agreement enabling the Directive to be

adopted at first reading, before the end of the parliamentary term.

The purpose of the draft Directive is to update current legislative arrange-

ments by recasting 14 Directives on insurance into a single legal act, since

current solvency rules are substantially out of date.

It aims to:

–

deepen the integration of the Community insurance and reinsurance

market

;

– strengthen the protection of policyholders and beneficiaries;

– enhance the international competitiveness of insurers and reinsurers

in Europe.

As regards group supervision, the "group support" that initially appeared in

the Commission's proposal no longer appears in the Council's general ap-

proach. That system : (i) placed key supervisory decisions in the hands of

the group supervisor alone (approval of the internal model, imposition of

additional capital requirements, etc.), and (2) allowed the parent company,

under the control of the group supervisor, to cover part of the subsidiaries'

capital requirements with a promise of support.

The Council's general approach does however represent some progress on

a number of points concerning group supervision:

– Creation of "colleges of supervisors": places for information ex-

change and discussion between the supervisors of parent compa-

nies and the supervisors of subsidiaries;

– Strengthening of the role of the Committee of European Insurance

and Occupational Pensions Supervisors, which should ensure great-

er convergence of prudential practices and may be consulted when

disagreements between supervisors of a college need to be

smoothed out;

– Recognition of mutual benefit insurance companies which

like the

other groups, could draw advantage from diversification between the

risks they bear.

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

In sum, the Council's approach is based on an idea of insurance-group su-

pervision that is as ambitious as that which obtains for banks. This system

will reduce risk of uncoordinated decisions between supervisors.

Rådskonklusioner vedr. investeringsinstitutter (UCITS)

The Council worked out a general approach on a draft Directive aimed at

modernising the rules governing undertakings for collective investment in

transferable securities (UCITS) (16214/08 + COR 2).

On the basis of this approach, the Presidency will continue its contacts with

the European Parliament in order to reach an agreement enabling the Di-

rective to be adopted at first reading, before the end of the parliamentary

term.

This proposal for a Directive seeks to modernise the regulatory framework

applicable to European investment funds – undertakings for collective in-

vestment in transferable securities (UCITS) – which represent a market of

EUR 6 000 to 7 000 billion. This financial product, in which millions of Euro-

pean consumers invest, has a European label of world quality.

The aim of revising the Directive is to modernise the regulatory framework

applicable to these financial products in order to:

– offer investors a greater choice of product at lower cost through bet-

ter integration of the internal market;

– provide investors with suitable protection through high-quality infor-

mation and more efficient supervision;

– maintain the competitiveness of the European industry by adjusting

the regulatory framework to developments in the market.

Against this background, the text has six objectives:

– improve investor information by creating a standardised summary in-

formation document: "key information for investors"; this is an inno-

vative approach aimed at making it easier for the consumer to un-

derstand the product;

– create a genuine European passport for UCITS management com-

panies – this is the last piece missing from the internal market as re-

gards UCITS management: a management company located in a

Member State will be able to manage funds in other Member States;

– facilitate crossborder marketing of UCITS by simplifying administra-

tive procedures;

– facilitate crossborder mergers of UCITS, which will make it possible

to increase the average size of European funds;

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

– facilitate asset pooling by creating a framework for the system of

"master-feeder" arrangements whereby a fund invests more than 85

% of its assets in another fund;

– strengthen the supervision of UCITS and of the companies that

manage them, by means of enhanced cooperation between supervi-

sors: the Directive encourages the exchange of information between

supervisors, harmonises the powers of supervisors, and allows for

the possibility of on-the-spot investigation, consultation mechanisms

and mutual-aid mechanisms for the imposition of penalties, in partic-

ular.

For further details, see press release 16562/08.

The European Parliament's vote is expected in January or February 2009.

Rådskonklusioner vedr. moms på finansielle tjenesteydelser og forsikringstjenes-

teydelser

The Council adopted without discussion conclusions in which it:

– noted the progress report by the Presidency on the VAT arrange-

ments applying to insurance and financial services (in 15793/2/08

REV 2 FISC 156), and progress to date on the proposal for a Di-

rective;

–

invited the incoming Presidency to build on progress made in seek-

ing to reduce the differences in approach and the drafting difficulties

encountered in the examination of the proposal for a Directive sub-

mitted by the Commission. A detailed examination of the proposed

implementing regulation could help to identify the components of a

compromise;

–

was invited to take stock of progress before the end of the first half of

2009.

The proposals for a Directive and a Regulation are aimed at clarifying the

provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of VAT as re-

gards financial services, which are exempt from VAT.

They thus aim to increase legal certainty for economic operators and na-

tional tax administrations, reduce their administrative burdens and lessen

the impact of hidden VAT on the costs of service providers. The existing

definitions were established in the 1970s and have led to uneven interpreta-

tion by the Member States, causing distortions of competition

Rådsmøde nr. 2911 (økonomi- og finansministre) den 2. december 2008 - Bilag 6: Redegørelse vedr. rådsmøde økofin 2/12-08

Rådskonklusioner vedr. koordination af systemer for direkte beskatning - exit-

beskatning

The Council adopted the Resolution set out in 16412/08.

This Resolution lays down the guiding principles on exit taxes which Mem-

ber States undertake to comply with, in order to organise the taxation ar-

rangements between Member States in the event of transfers of economic

activities and avoid double taxation.

It provides that:

– where the exit State applies an exit tax and the host State imposes a

tax on gains, the two States will refer to a common value for calculat-

ing the tax: the market value on the date of transfer of economic ac-

tivities;

– in the event of disagreement on the value arrived at, the Member

States will set up a procedure for settling their dispute;

– the Directive on mutual assistance is the appropriate framework for

the information exchanges required for proper application of the prin-

ciple concerned.

This is the first time that the Commission's initiative on the coordination of

Member States' direct taxation systems (see 17066/06 Fisc 175) has taken

tangible form, in a Council Resolution.