EU To Spare Turkey From Tax Blacklist: Sources
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published February 12, 2021 | 10:22 PM
The EU is set to give Turkey more time to adhere to its commitments on tax evasion, sources said on Friday, raising concerns that Ankara is being spared the bloc's blacklist for political reasons
Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Feb, 2021 ):The EU is set to give Turkey more time to adhere to its commitments on tax evasion, sources said on Friday, raising concerns that Ankara is being spared the bloc's blacklist for political reasons.
Ties between the EU and Turkey have been fraught, especially after Ankara pushed gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean last year, infuriating Cyprus and Greece.
However, the tensions have eased in recent weeks with the diplomacy of Germany, which is sensitive to keep Turkey compliant with a migration pact that keeps a tight control on the Turkish border with the EU.
According to several sources, the EU's 27 member states will next week accept to once again delay the blacklisting of Turkey, which was already given a break a year ago.
Turkey is accused of failing to comply with international standards on the automatic exchange of tax information, a problem in particular for EU countries with a big Turkish diaspora.
The delay, however, could come with an understanding that putting off the decision any further will no longer be tolerated, with a deadline set for later this year.
"It is important to be rigorous and to ensure that countries, where difficulties have been identified, make commitments and fulfil them," one EU diplomat said.
In this case, "it would have been logical, as it has been in comparable situations in the past", for Turkey to be added to the list.
The deadline for Turkey was still under negotiation among the 27 member states on Friday, diplomats said, with hopes that it would not have to be argued over by EU finance ministers at talks next week.
The main concern for some member states is that the EU's blacklist will become politicised, when its criteria was expected to be objective and free of diplomatic considerations.
The blacklist was first drawn up in 2017 in the wake of several scandals, including the Panama Papers and LuxLeaks, which pushed Brussels into doing more to fight tax evasion by multinationals and the rich.
EU member countries cannot be on the list and blacklisted countries face only limited sanctions, consisting of freezing them out of European aid or development funding.
The previous diplomatic dust-up came in 2019 over the inclusion of the United Arab Emirates, which Italy resisted. The UAE was added, but was later removed.
The list currently holds: Anguilla, American Samoa, Barbados, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
Musadik slams PTI's political approach as provocative
More Stories From World
-
Endrick in Brazil's Copa America squad but no Neymar
6 hours ago -
Djokovic bottle strike overshadows Rome Open cruise past Moutet
6 hours ago -
Train crash in Argentine capital leaves 30 injured
6 hours ago -
Pandemic agreement talks to continue beyond deadline
6 hours ago -
Chopra falls short in Doha, Bednarek blitzes before Olympics
6 hours ago -
Djokovic struck with bottle from stands after winning Rome opener
7 hours ago
-
England great Anderson's Test career under threat after McCullum talks - report
7 hours ago -
Senegal launches inquiry into Boeing jet runway crash
7 hours ago -
Madagascan leader's former aide jailed in UK for graft
8 hours ago -
Seven killed as bus crashes into river in Russia's St Petersburg
8 hours ago -
Mbappe confirms he will leave PSG at end of season
8 hours ago -
Fresh rains pound Brazil's flood-hit south as evacuations double
8 hours ago