A proposal for an amended Directive on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States, a proposal for a Directive implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of Financial Transaction Tax, the In-Depth Reviews 2014 in the context of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure and the follow-up to the international finance meetings last month in Washington D.C. are the main topics of the ECOFIN Council on 6 May, under the presidency of the Greek Minister of Finance, Yannis Stournaras.

During the working breakfast, Ministers will be debriefed on the Eurogroup and the economic situation, in the light of the Commission’s spring economic forecast.

The Council is expected to adopt, without discussion, among others, harmonized rules on bank recovery and resolution, following their approval by the European Parliament on 15 April.

Furthermore, the Council will be called on to agree on the first part of a proposal to amend Directive 2011/96/EU, on rules to counter the double non-taxation of corporate groups deriving from hybrid loan arrangements, and to approve a statement acknowledging that splitting the proposed directive is necessary in order to allow for early progress in the field of hybrid loans, whilst allowing work to continue on the second part of the proposal, which deals with anti-abuse provisions.

As regards the proposal for a Council Directive implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of Financial Transaction Tax, Finance Ministers will exchange views on the basis of a Presidency’s note reflecting the state of play of the file.

The Presidency and the Commission will debrief Ministers on the main outcomes of the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and the annual spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank held in Washington D.C. on 10-11 April and 11-13 April respectively.

Moreover, Ministers will discuss the in-depth reviews 2014 published by the Commission on 5 March in the context of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure and adopt related conclusions.

Finally, the Council will take note of on-going work on legislative dossiers.

In the margins of the ECOFIN Council, Finance Ministers will meet for the annual European Investment Bank (EIB) governors meeting.

Furthermore, over lunch, the Economics and Finance Ministers of the EU will meet their counterparts from the candidate countries – Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – for their 16th economic policy dialogue.

A press conference will be held at the end of the ECOFIN.