Germany and France will step up a diplomatic drive on Tuesday to convince more EU countries to join them in setting up a financial transactions tax, but they remain stubbornly short of the nine needed to push ahead with the plan.
Greece, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia and Belgium have agreed to join Berlin and Paris in the endeavour, and Estonia is expected to sign up on Tuesday, but one more is required to reach the threshold to put the initiative into action.
Italy and Spain have toyed with the idea, but appear unlikely to throw their hats into the ring, leaving Germany bidding to attract a country outside the euro zone, which could complicate the process of establishing the contested tax.
Poland is one potential candidate to join, but officials indicated it was trying to get too much in return for its support and Germany might not accept the terms, despite its long-held determination to introduce a tax on market activity.
The European Commission, the EU executive that initiates legislation, said it will do “everything it can to facilitate quick progress” on the tax once the threshold is reached, but there is little it can do before then.
“An EU Financial Transactions Tax would not just be a good source of revenue,” said Algirdas Semeta, the commissioner in charge of taxation policy. “It would also ensure that the financial sector pays its fair share.”