Bettel meets Benelux partners

(CS) Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel hosted his first international guests on Thursday, welcoming his colleagues Elio Di Rupo and Mark Rutte ahead of the European summit next week.

The three Premiers met at Senningen castle for the Benelux summit to discuss current European and international affairs.

One of the topics up for discussion was the European Savings Tax Directive, which Luxembourg and Austria have so far blocked.

Bettel on Thursday was able to rally support from his Benelux partners. Dutch Prime Minister Rutte expressed his understanding for Luxembourg's concerns, as long as the measures envisioned by the EU are not generally applicable for third countries.

It is assumed that the Savings Tax Directive would have a direct impact on Luxembourg's financial centre, as banks would be required to automatically exchange information on the savings of non-residents with tax authorities in other countries.

At a recent meeting of Europe's finance ministers, newly appointed Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna stressed the importance of ensuring the same standards are applied by all major financial centres to create a level playing field, while at the same time pointing towards efforts made by the Grand Duchy to cooperate on eliminating fiscal fraud.

The topic will be up for discussion again at the EU summit in Brussels on December 19 and 20.