Finance Minister Edward Scicluna was in Brussels in a two day meeting on 5 and 6 May 2014 in Brussels covering the European Investment Bank`s (EIB) Annual General Meeting, the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN Council.
In his capacity as Chairman of the EIB Board of Governors, Minister for Finance, Professor Edward Scicluna, chaired a meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB). “This was a first for Malta since becoming a member of the EU” Professor Scicluna stated.

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During this meeting the Board discussed the capital increase of the EIB bank and the direction of the bank’s work in the time to come. The meeting was addressed by the EIB’s Director, Mr Werner Hoyer and by other Ministers as Members of the Board. The Board of Governors comprises Ministers designated by each of the 28 Member States. This meeting took place in Brussels as part of the Economic and Financial Council (ECOFIN).

During the Council meeting, Professor Scicluna also dealt with the Parent Subsidiary Directive and with the Financial Transaction Tax, two sensitive areas, which Malta follows closely in view of their fiscal implications on the financial services sector. The Parent Subsidiary Directive covers the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States. During the debate Minister Scicluna objected to the choice of wording put forward by the Presidency. Malta and Sweden are the only two countries taking this stand. The meeting decided to postpone political agreement until the next Council meeting in June. Malta is confident that an agreement could be reached on a compromise text which will not impinge on Malta`s fiscal sovereignty.

With regard to the Financial Transaction Tax, Minister Scicluna told the Council that whilst Malta respects the fiscal sovereignty of those Member States who wish to introduce such tax amongst themselves, Malta remains interested that the ultimate outcome does not adversely impinge on the rights and competences of the non-participating Member States. Malta sees it as particularly important to keep a close eye on the procedural aspects governing the enhanced cooperation process. In this spirit, he reiterated the importance that further discussions continue to be made in a transparent and inclusive manner amongst the 28 Member States.

Other topics dealt with during the meetings included the Spring Economic Forecast, wherein the Commission foresaw robust growth for Malta, the in-Depth Reviews in the light of the Macro-Economic Imbalance procedure, the follow up meetings of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and the IMF/World Bank meeting and the economic situation in candidate countries for the EU.

For the meetings, the Minister for Finance was accompanied by Ambassador Marlene Bonnici, Permanent Representative of Malta to the EU and the Permanent Secretary Mr. Alfred Camilleri.

– Monday, 6th May 2014