Progress with the EU Savings Tax Directive:

At its meeting on December 2, the European Council of Finance Ministers (Ecofin) expressed support for proposals by the European Commission to tighten up the European savings tax directive.

In its conclusion, released after Tuesday's meeting, the Council called for "rapid progress of the discussions on the proposal" for new legislation that would expand the scope of the savings tax directive to include a wider array of financial instruments and vehicles.

The Council also invited the Commission to continue its negotiations and exploratory talks with financial centres outside the European Union (EU) in order to expand the directive's geographical net. Ecofin called on the incoming Czech presidency of the EU to report back on the progress of these discussions by the Spring of 2009