PUBLIC 9518/16 1 DG G LIMITE EN. Council of the European Union Brussels, 15 June 2016 (OR. en) 9518/16 LIMITE PV/CONS 28 ECOFIN 511

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1 Conseil UE Council of the European Union Brussels, 15 June 2016 (OR. en) 9518/16 LIMITE PUBLIC PV/CONS 28 ECOFIN 511 DRAFT MINUTES 1 Subject: 3468th meeting of the Council of the European Union (ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS), held in Brussels on 25 May Information on Council legislative deliberations, on other cases of Council deliberations open to the public and on public debates may be found in Addendum 1 to these minutes. 9518/16 1

2 CONTENTS Page 1. Adoption of the provisional agenda... 3 LEGISLATIVE DELIBERATIONS 2. Approval of the list of "A" items Anti-Tax Avoidance Package... 3 Proposal for a Council Directive laying down rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market 4. Any other business... 3 Current legislative proposals NON-LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES 5. Approval of the list of "A" items Implementation of the Banking Union VAT Action Plan "Towards a single EU VAT area"... 4 VAT Action Plan "Towards a single EU VAT area" Special Report No 24/2015 by the European Court of Auditors "Tackling intra-community VAT fraud: more action needed" 8. European Semester Country reports: 2016 In-depth reviews and implementation of the 2015 Country-Specific Recommendations 9. Any other business... 4 ANNEX - Statement for the Council minutes... 5 * * * 9518/16 2

3 1. Adoption of the provisional agenda 8995/1/16 REV 1 OJ CONS 27 ECOFIN 401 The Council adopted the above agenda. LEGISLATIVE DELIBERATIONS (Public deliberation in accordance with Article 16(8) of the Treaty on European Union) 2. Approval of the list of "A" items 8996/16 PTS A 39 The Council adopted the "A" items as listed in 8996/16. Details on the adoption of these items are set out in the Addendum. 3. Anti-Tax Avoidance Package Proposal for a Council Directive laying down rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market = General approach 9431/16 FISC 83 ECOFIN /16 FISC 84 ECOFIN 499 The Council held a debate on the file. The discussion allowed the narrowing down of the key open issues to be solved with a view to a final political agreement on this file at the 17 June 2016 ECOFIN. Text circulated to Ministers during the meeting can be found in 9520/ Any other business Current legislative proposals = Information from the Presidency 8886/16 ECOFIN 394 The Council took note of the state of play in relation to financial service legislative proposals. NON-LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES 5. Approval of the list of "A" items 8997/16 PTS A 40 The Council adopted the "A" items listed in 8997/16. Statements relating to these items are set out in the Annex. 9518/16 3

4 6. Implementation of the Banking Union = State of play The Council received an update by the Commission on the state of play of the implementation of the Banking Union. 7. VAT Action Plan "Towards a single EU VAT area" VAT Action Plan "Towards a single EU VAT area" Special Report No 24/2015 by the European Court of Auditors "Tackling intra-community VAT fraud: more action needed" = Council conclusions 9046/16 FISC 77 ECOFIN 404 Following an exchange of views, the Council adopted the conclusions set out in doc. 9452/16 FISC 85 ECOFIN 502 and agreed to discuss the issue of VAT reverse charge mechanism at its following meeting in June in the light of a Commission analysis. 8. European Semester 2016 Country reports: 2016 In-depth reviews and implementation of the 2015 Country-Specific Recommendations = Council conclusions 8836/16 ECOFIN 390 UEM 155 SOC 251 EMPL /16 ECOFIN 398 UEM 158 SOC 256 EMPL 159 The Council adopted the conclusions outlined in document 8836/ Any other business No issues were raised under this item. 9518/16 4

5 ANNEX STATEMENTS FOR THE COUNCIL MINUTES Ad "A" item 1: Commission Delegated Decision (EU) / of amending Annex III to Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council granting an EU guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under financing operations supporting investment projects outside the Union, as regards Belarus = Intention not to raise objections to a delegated act STATEMENT BY LITHUANIA "Lithuania does not intend to raise objections against the Delegated Decision, with the understanding that EIB s financing operations under the Bank s external lending mandate will be subject to Belarus compliance with the international environmental and nuclear safety standards and in line with the Council s conclusions on Belarus of 15 February 2016, in particular reaffirming that good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation are important elements for enhancing EU- Belarus cooperation, reiterating the importance of ensuring nuclear safety beyond the borders of the EU and calling on Belarus to cooperate constructively with the relevant international authorities in this regard. Lithuania notes that in 2014 the United Nations Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (the Espoo Convention) and the United Nations Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention) acknowledged that Belarus had been in non-compliance with the provisions of the mentioned Conventions with regard to the Belarus NPP in Ostrovets project. This acknowledgement was reiterated by Espoo Implementation Committee on 15 March 2016, suggesting to establish Inquiry Commission for the respective assessment. Lithuania emphasizes the necessity to scrutinize Belarus adherence to the international standards of environmental and nuclear safety, stressing importance of the accomplishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency s Site & External Events Design peer review mission in its full scope and performing comprehensive risk and safety assessment ( stress-test ) for Belarus NPP." 9518/16 5 ANNEX