P R E S S
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EUCO 115/13 1
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EUROPEA COU CIL
THE PRESIDE T
EN
Brussels, 21 May 2013
EUCO 115/13
PRESSE 199
PR PCE 100
Invitation letter by
President Herman Van Rompuy
to the European Council
Brussels.
The aim of this European Council is to set the direction for future work on two issues of
crucial importance for Europe's economy and social cohesion: energy and taxation. Indeed,
I intend for the European Council to hold a number of such thematic discussions, to ensure
that all of our policies contribute fully to improving competitiveness, employment and
growth. These debates will also feed into a wide-ranging discussion on the Europe 2020
strategy in March next year.
After our traditional meeting with the President of the European Parliament, we will begin
our working lunch with an exchange of views on energy, starting with an introduction by
José Manuel Barroso. Thanks to the work of the Council, we have draft conclusions which
strike the right balance and which provide useful guidelines for further work by the
ministers. This gives us an opportunity to have a strategic discussion amongst ourselves on
the key issue of energy policy and competitiveness, rather than going into detail on the
wording of the conclusions. To frame our debate, I should like to invite you to intervene on
one of the three following questions. To foster EU competitiveness, growth and jobs, what
should be done at the level of the EU to further increase energy efficiency? To further
develop indigenous resources? And to achieve a more predictable energy policy, as a
prerequisite to attract the necessary investments into a modern energy infrastructure? I am
confident that your intervention will contribute to giving the necessary orientation to our
future work.
EUCO 115/13 2
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We will then focus on the issue of taxation. Last March we already stressed the need for
renewed efforts to improve the efficiency of tax collection and tackle tax evasion. In times
of tight budgetary constraints and expenditure cuts, combating tax fraud and tax evasion is
more than an issue of tax fairness. It has become essential for the political and social
acceptability of fiscal consolidation. Therefore, and following recent developments, both in
Europe and globally, I felt it was important to seize the current political momentum and to
provide further impetus to our European efforts to improve the efficiency of our tax
policies. The discussions will also serve to prepare strong and coordinated EU positions in
international fora such as the G8, the G20 and the OECD as well as in our relations with
international partners. We will finish our work at 5 pm.
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Brussels, 21 May 2013
BACKGROU D1
EUROPEA COU CIL
Wednesday 22 May in Brussels
competitiveness, discuss energy and taxation.
On energy, it will address the EU's energy policy against the backdrop of pressure on Europe's
competitiveness and increasing energy demand from major economies. Building on the policy
priorities and actions it set in February 2011, it will focus on certain key aspects, particularly those
in relation with the EU's growth and jobs agenda, and will seek to give guidance to the Council.
On taxation, the European Council will focus on effective steps to fight tax evasion and tax fraud,
as well as to tackle aggressive tax planning in order to protect revenues and enhance the
effectiveness of tax systems. It is expected to call for rapid progress on a number of issues,
including automatic exchange of information, taxation of savings interest and measures to counter
VAT fraud.
Indicative programme:
13.00 exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament
13.30 family photo
13.45 working lunch
17.00 press conference
Full media programme
Invitation letter by President Herman Van Rompuy
1 This note has been drawn up under the responsibility of the press office
· Media accreditation: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/
· Press conferences by video streaming: http://video.consilium.europa.eu/
· Video coverage in broadcast quality (MPEG4): http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu
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Energy
Following an introduction by the Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, Heads of State or
Government will intervene on one of the three following questions. To foster EU competiveness,
growth and jobs, what should be done at the level of the EU to further increase energy efficiency?
To further develop indigenous resources? And to achieve more predictable energy policy, as a
prerequisite to attract the necessary investments into a modern energy infrastructure?
Against the backdrop of pressure on Europe's competitiveness and increasing energy demand from
major economies, the European Council will address the EU's energy policy, which aims to ensure
uninterrupted supply of households and companies at affordable and competitive prices. While the
policy priorities and actions set by the European Council in February 2011 remain valid and must
continue to be implemented, further work is required. The European Council will focus on certain
key aspects, particularly those in relation with the EU's growth and jobs agenda.
The European Council will assess progress made towards completing the internal energy market
by 2014. In this context, member states are expected to confirm their commitment to proper and
swift implementation of internal energy market legislation and in particular the third energy
package.
The European Council will also call for investments that are needed for the modernisation of the
energy infrastructure and in building the necessary interconnections, in order to meet the 2015
ambition of putting an end to the isolation of certain member states from European gas and
electricity networks. It is expected to call in particular for the swift implementation of the TENenergy
regulation and adoption of the list of common projects, as well as the adoption of the
directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.
The European Council is expected to underline the importance of further intensifying the
diversification of Europe's energy supply and developing indigenous energy resources.
The European Council is also expected to call for work to be taken forward on the impact of high
energy prices and costs. This includes work on energy efficiency and on innovative modalities of
financing.
Taxation
On taxation, heads of state or government will focus on effective steps to fight tax evasion and tax
fraud, as well as to tackle aggressive tax planning in order to protect revenues and enhance the
effectiveness of tax systems. The European Council is expected to call for rapid progress on a
number of issues, including automatic exchange of information, taxation of savings interest and
measures to counter VAT fraud.
The European Council is expected to welcome the agreement reached by the ECOFIN Council on a
negotiating mandate for strengthened savings tax agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Monaco, Andorra and San Marino (see press release 9487/13).
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Heads of state and government will also focus their discussion on other aspects of the automatic
exchange of information that have gained momentum following the launch by five member states of
a pilot initiative. The next step will be to enshrine automatic exchange within an EU framework in
order to promote it as a global standard. To that end the EU will develop strong coordinated
positions in the G8, G20 and OECD frameworks.
The European Council is also expected to call for urgent action to address VAT fraud. This includes
measures such as the "quick reaction mechanism", which will enable rapid intervention by member
states in cases of sudden and massive fraud, and the "reverse charge mechanism", which
specifically targets carrousel fraud.
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