This just in from Owen Tudor at the TUC: EU finance ministers meet on Tuesday and the Danish Presidency has agreed to put the EU proposal for a Financial Transactions Tax on the agenda. We need people to email finance ministers around the EU – FTT supporters as well as opponents, calling on them to back the tax.
Please see the email below from Europeans for Financial Reform (which the TUC and ETUC are members of).
Dear supporters of the EU-FTT,
We need your help once again!
On 13th March the EU Finance Ministers will decide on the future of the EU FTT. Some Member States like the UK and Sweden are fervently opposed to the introduction of a tax on speculators.
Now it is crucial to keep up the pressure! Send your message to the Ministers!
2012 may be the year of the trend reversal in European financial and economic policy. The EU-wide implementation of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) could make an important contribution to tackling the crisis and ensure that the threats resulting from highly speculative financial trading are kept at bay.
Thanks to your commitment, we were able to achieve major partial successes last year: In April 2011, the majority in the European Parliament, under pressure from the public at large, came out in favour of implementation of an FTT. Citizens from all parts of the continent then urged the Commission to follow this decision. Prior to the European Council meeting in June 2011, Commission President Barroso announced a legislative proposal by the Commission, which was then presented in September.
The ball is now with the Council of the EU in which all Member States are represented. The rule is simple: with respect to tax issues, a Commission proposal must be accepted by all. The veto of only one country means that the proposal has failed at EU level. On 13th March 2012, the Finance Ministers of the EU States will announce their preliminary stance on the issue in the ECOFIN Council.
Some Member States have already stated their intention of blocking the proposal. George Osborne, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, even called the idea of a Europe-wide Financial Transaction Tax “fanciful”. On www.financialtransactiontax.eu, you get to know who else is pursuing the interests of finance capital. Through the updated campaign tool you can once again use the opportunity to get in touch with our representatives in order to get them back on track.
We shall keep you informed about the progress. Additionally, we will soon launch new actions in the area of rating agencies.
Thank you for your support!
www.financialtransactiontax.eu
Please sign the on-line petition etc at http://www.financialtransactiontax.eu/en/home.
