European finance ministers are heading to Prague. They will discuss Ukraine and corporate taxation
“The meeting of European ministers and governors of national banks in Prague will be informal. This means that no major decisions will be taken during it,” explains Vendula Kazlauskas from the Association for International Affairs. “However, it offers ministers the opportunity to clarify their position and prepare the ground for further negotiations,” he adds.
The Czech Republic, which currently chairs the Council of the European Union, will be represented at the meeting by the Ministry of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS). However, the Czechia, as the presiding country, should not promote its own interests at the meeting, but rather lead and coordinate the debate.
“If our negotiators did not do this, we would lose credibility with our European partners and it would fundamentally damage our reputation,” says Kristína Chlebáková, project manager of the Institute for European Policy Europeum.
The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU: What is its main agenda?
Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU: What is the program and main topics? • VIDEO Videohub
A controversial topic
One of the topics discussed should be the minimum corporate tax. The member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) already agreed on its introduction last year. It should concern companies with an annual turnover of over 750 million euros, i.e. about 18.5 billion crowns. The aim is to make giant companies to abuse so-called tax havens. However, the approval of the fifteen percent corporate tax in the European Union has already been blocked twice. First by Poland and now Hungary defends him.
“It will probably be the most controversial topic of the entire Prague meeting,” confirms Chlebáková. In Prague, the Germans will try to convince the Hungarians to change their position. They announced a few days ago that they will introduce a minimum corporate tax in their own country and will push for the rule to apply throughout the Union.
“We can no longer stand idly by as Orbán’s veto costs Germany billions,” German Deputy Minister for Economy and Climate Protection Sven Giegold recently wrote on Twitter. “The fact that Germany has taken the initiative can be a breakthrough at the European level. It will put pressure on Hungary to stop blocking the European Union agreement,” thinks Rasmus Andresen, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
The Czechs will support the Germans
The Czechs are going to support Germany. “The adoption of a minimum corporate tax of fifteen percent for a multinational company is one of the main priorities of the Czech presidency within the Ecofin Council. That is also why Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura visited his Hungarian colleague in Budapest in August, where, among other things, they discussed the Hungarian background to the compromise wording of the directive,” said Tomáš Weiss, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, for the daily E15.
“We assume that this debate will continue at the informal Ecofin in Prague with the aim of reaching an agreement of all 27 countries of the European Union by the end of the Czech presidency at the latest,” says Weiss.
![Global corporate tax: Realism or dangerous utopia? The world is not clear yet Global corporate tax: Realism or dangerous utopia? The world is not clear yet](https://1884403144.rsc.cdn77.org/foto/joe-biden/MzMweDE5NS9jZW50ZXIvbWlkZGxlL2ZpbHRlcnM6cXVhbGl0eSg4NSk6bm9fdXBzY2FsZSgpL2ltZw/6969811.jpg?v=0&st=TBTmVYNW7_X10tzBPf4g3OqscO-coHyGNIwKAkXGOgQ&ts=1600812000&e=0)
Whether there is any progress in this matter in Prague or not, the European finance ministers will have the first opportunity to vote again on the implementation of the fifteen percent corporate tax at their next meeting on October 4.
Package for Ukraine
Other topics that will be discussed on Friday and Saturday will undoubtedly include further financial assistance to Ukraine and the discussion on the reform of the coordination of European economies. “The main problem here is indebtedness, which is on the rise along with the deteriorating economic situation of the EU,” Chlebáková points out.
A package to support the war-hit Ukraine of five billion euros could be informally agreed. “Its form and the ratio between grants and loans have not yet been clarified,” adds Chlebáková.
According to his spokesman, Stanjura will also want to open a discussion on the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine at the meeting. “It can bring interesting business opportunities for Czech companies,” Weiss added.
![War in Ukraine ONLINE: We liberated over a thousand square kilometers of territory, Zelenskyy said War in Ukraine ONLINE: We liberated over a thousand square kilometers of territory, Zelenskyy said](https://1884403144.rsc.cdn77.org/foto/valka-na-ukrajine-ukrajina-charkov/MzMweDE5NS9jZW50ZXIvbWlkZGxlL2ZpbHRlcnM6cXVhbGl0eSg4NSk6bm9fdXBzY2FsZSgpL2ltZw/7900524.jpg?v=0&st=rhZgzmd0H1x0zCk0g3O5YfrXhiru4Y3mdceU2Al-XvA&ts=1600812000&e=0)