WRITTEN QUESTION E-1317/01 by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Council. Directive on the taxation of savings.
Date: 2001-05-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, savings, tax system

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/83

on paying agents inevitably will entail some additional administrative costs for the market operators
concerned and may require them to adapt their administrative procedures and computerised systems.
However, every effort has been made to keep additional compliance costs for market operators to
a minimum. It may be noted that a Council working group is currently examining the technical details of
the information exchange system.

3.
The Commission is preparing a new proposal for a Directive on taxation of savings income, which
will replace its 1998 proposal, taking into account the conclusions of the Feira European Council of
19/20 June 2000 and the Ecofin conclusions of 26/27 November 2000. The Commission intends to
present its new proposal to the Council, the Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee in the
coming months.

(1) OJ C 212, 8.7.1998.

(2001/C 364 E/088)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1317/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Council

(4 May 2001)

Subject: Directive on the taxation of savings

Could the Council please state what progress has been made in negotiations with the US and key third
countries, including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and San Mar(cid:237)no, with a view to securing
the introduction of (cid:145)equivalent measures(cid:146) in those countries before the directive on the taxation of savings
is adopted?

Reply

(27 September 2001)

The Council wants, in the first instance, to draw the Honourable Parliamentarian(cid:146)s attention to the fact
that, at present, no negotiations with third countries are being conducted in this field.

According to the conclusions of the European Council in Nice, the Commission and the Presidency are
currently undertaking discussions with the United States and other third countries in order to encourage
the adoption of equivalent measures on the taxation of savings. The Commission and the Presidency have
reported on these discussions to the Council at its meeting on 5 June 2001 (Ecofin) and the Council, then,
concluded to agree, at its meeting in October, on a mandate for negotiations with third countries, on this
topic. This meeting provided an opportunity for the Council to take stock of the progress reached so far in
these discussions.

(2001/C 364 E/089)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1318/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: System of licensing radio stations in the Attica basin

(4 May 2001)

After many years of ambiguity in the law governing radio stations in Greece, the Greek Government
adopted a licensing system. In the Attica basin, it issued licences for 20 radio stations which, in its view, is
the maximum number that can operate on the available radio frequencies.

However, it did not issue licences to many stations with high audience ratings, a high turnover and a large
number of staff. Following a number of protests, therefore, and a technical recommendation which met
certain requirements laid down by the government itself, it raised the number of licences provisionally
to 28. Again, however, several stations of recognised quality with high audience figures were not included.
Meanwhile, reports by professors at the Athens Institute of Technology maintain that the number of
frequencies can be increased to 35 without difficulty.