EC Challenges rebel states
The European Commission takes legal action against five member states for failing to comply with EU accounting rules
The moves include:
• Taking Austria to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to
implement a 2000 directive on financial transparency.
• Threatening Luxembourg with recurring fines for ignoring an ECJ ruling.
• Launching cases against Italy and Luxembourg for failing to implement 2003
reforms.
• Formally requiring Portugal to scrap tax exemptions for capital gains
secured by public companies from privatisation and restructuring processes.
• Demanding that Spain scraps a law, which automatically treats dividend
payments by Spanish companies to foreign EU companies as tax evasion.
Brussels usually launches such infringement procedures in July, ahead of the
EU’s political summer break.