Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 8 November 2019

Summary:

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council was held on 8 November 2019. The agenda includes the following items:

• Adoption of conclusions on climate change, ahead of discussions in the framework of the COP25 conference;
• Briefing by the Council Presidency on the state of play of OECD discussions regarding tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy;
• Adoption of general approach on legislative initiatives aimed at reforming rules on VAT:
  • Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards introducing certain requirements for payment service providers;
  • Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No. 904/2010 as regards measures to strengthen administrative co-operation in order to combat VAT fraud;
  • Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax as regards the special scheme for small enterprises;
• Adoption of general approach on legislative initiatives aimed at improving business environment for trade in goods subject to excise duties:
  • Directive laying down the general arrangements for excise duty;
  • Regulation on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties as regards the content of electronic registers;
  • Proposed amendments to Directives concerning the general arrangements for excise duty as regards defence efforts;
• Discussion on proposed amendments to Directive on the harmonisation of structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages;
• Adoption of recommendation on the nomination of Isabel Schnabel to become a member of the ECB's Executive Board;
• Briefing by the Council Presidency on a draft joint statement with the European Commission on stablecoins;
• Exchange of views on the importance of human capital as the foundation of Europe's welfare, based on a discussion paper from the Council Presidency;
• Adoption of conclusions on EU statistics;
• Presentation by the European Fiscal Board on its annual report for 2019;
• Briefing on the latest international meetings.

Official

Outcome of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 8 November 2019 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/41308/st13675-en19.pdf

European Commission: Opening remarks of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis at the ECOFIN press conference, 8 November 2019 https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-19-6245_en.htm

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