EN Official Journal of the European Union C 355/91

P8_TA(2015)0361

EU-Switzerland agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information *

European Parliament legislative resolution of 27 October 2015 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Amending Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments (08266/1/2015 — C8-0169/2015 — 2015/0076(NLE))

(Consultation)

(2017/C 355/13)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the draft Council decision (08266/1/2015),

— having regard to the draft Amending Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments (08297/2015),

— having regard to Article 115 and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (b), and Article 218(8), second subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C8-0169/2015),

— having regard to Rules 59 and 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A8-0271/2015),

1. Approves the draft Council decision as amended and approves conclusion of the Amending Protocol to the Agreement;

2. Regrets that no improvements can be made, particularly regarding information provided and the automatic, binding and unrestricted nature of exchanges of information;

3. Calls upon the Commission to keep Parliament informed in case of any change or new development in the final steps of the conclusion of the Amending Protocol to the Agreement;

4. Reminds the Council of its obligation to consult Parliament once more should it modify its draft decision;

5. Stresses the importance of taking effective action against fraud and tax avoidance and in particular tax evasion and tax avoidance by natural and legal persons based in the Union with the involvement of financial institutions based in third countries;

6. Calls upon the Commission to assess, 18 months after the date of entry into force of the Amending Protocol to the Agreement, the application of the Agreement and its outcome, and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied where appropriate by proposals for its review;

7. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Swiss Confederation.

Amendment 1

Draft decision

Article 2 — paragraph 1

Draft decision Amendment 1. The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Union, give the notification provided for in Article 2(1) of the Amending Protocol (4). 1. The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Union, give the notification provided for in Article 2(1) and Article 4 of the Amending Protocol (4) in order to ensure that the rules on automatic exchange of information with respect to reportable accounts are being followed and collaboration on compliance and enforcement is enabled .

Amendment 2

Draft decision

Article 2 — paragraph 2

Draft decision Amendment 2. The Commission shall inform the Swiss Confederation and the Member States of the notifications given in accordance with point (d) of Article 1(1) of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the automatic exchange of financial account information to improve international tax compliance as resulting from the Amending Protocol. 2. The Commission shall inform the Swiss Confederation and the Member States of the notifications given in accordance with point (d) of Article 1(1) of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the automatic exchange of financial account information to improve international tax compliance as following from the Amending Protocol.

(4) The date of entry into force of the Amending Protocol will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.

(4) The date of entry into force of the Amending Protocol will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.