From today’s Open Europe news summary (my emphasis in italicized bold lettering):
France and Germany push for greater “tax coordination” in the EU and swifter negotiations on FTT
France and Germany yesterday unveiled a set of joint proposals which they say would boost growth in the EU. The proposals will be submitted to European leaders at their meeting on 30 January. The document reads, “European institutions and member states should accelerate the process of tax coordination…In particular, the negotiation of the European Commission proposals on Energy Tax Directive, Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and Common System of Financial Transaction Tax should be accelerated.”
In an interview with Bild, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán argues, “We support the initiative of Chancellor Angela Merkel on the fiscal union. But we strictly reject a Europe-wide harmonised tax system. Hungary’s low tax rate is for us a competitive advantage that we cannot do without.” Handelsblatt notes that the Czech Republic has voiced opposition to the introduction of an EU-wide FTT.