Taxation: Council updates cooperation agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino
The Council today approved updated EU tax cooperation and transparency agreements with five non-EU countries – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino.
The updated agreements reflect new international standards in the field, as developed by the OECD. They expand the automatic exchange of financial account information between the EU and those countries to include electronic money products and digital currencies.
The new protocols also establish a new framework for cooperation between partners on recovery of value-added tax (VAT) and on the prevention of tax fraud and tax evasion.
In addition, they strengthen due diligence and reporting requirements, allowing tax administrations to act faster and more effectively on the information they receive.
Next steps
The updated agreements will now enter into force on 1 January 2026. The EU will also seek to now deepen cooperation in tax matters even further with Switzerland.
Background
Since 2015, the EU has engaged in tax cooperation exchanges with third countries as part of its efforts to promote transparency and international tax cooperation. The exchanges are currently based on traditional financial account information of individuals, as prescribed in the previous OECD common reporting standards. Those standards have now been updated to include information related to new types of financial information.
The Council also recently authorised the start of negotiations with Norway for an agreement on cooperation in the area of direct taxation.
