Memo: EU-Switzerland relations: Co-operation against tax fraud top priority

On 19.1.01, a meeting was held in Brussels between representatives of the Commission and a delegation led by the Head of the Swiss Integration Office to discuss the future development of EU-Swiss relations. The Commission representative, Mr Percy Westerlund, Director in the Directorate-General for External Relations, underlined that the European Union attached the highest priority to improvement of judicial co-operation in the fight against tax fraud. He stressed that a rapid solution to this question, through a negotiation on the basis of the mandate given to the Commission by the Council at the end of 2001, was essential for the further development of relations.