EU, Switzerland reach deal on offshore tax fraud

[dArKeR]

AFP , BRUSSELS
Saturday, May 15, 2004,Page 12

The EU on Thursday cleared the path to a long-awaited deal with Switzerland on offshore tax fraud that will in return see the Alpine state join the bloc's passport-free zone, officials said.

Ambassadors from the 25 EU member states, meeting at weekly talks, agreed on a compromise on the savings-tax accord to win the backing of Luxembourg, which is keen to protect its own lucrative banking industry.

The deal is set to be formally adopted by foreign ministers on Monday and signed at an EU-Switzerland summit on Wednesday, finally enabling the bloc to implement its new tax rules after nearly a decade of talks.

"Basically all of the outstanding issues have been agreed and we will hold the summit in Brussels on May 19," a spokesman for the EU's Irish presidency said.

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