On 23 January 2018 at the monthly ECOFIN meeting, the Council officially took out eight countries – Barbados, Grenada, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Panama, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates – from list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. The eight countries will now move onto a so-called graylist, which now contains 55 international jurisdictions that are in the process of adhering to EU fiscal standards.

The decision leaves 9 jurisdictions on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions out of 17 announced initially on 5 December 2017. These are American Samoa, Bahrain, Guam, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Palau, Saint Lucia, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago. The list also carries recommendations on steps to take to be de-listed.

Today’s decision was taken without discussion at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, by means of an amendment to its December conclusions. The 8 jurisdictions are moved from annex I of the conclusions (non-cooperative jurisdictions) to annex II (cooperation with respect to commitments taken). The initial listing of Tunisia had triggered acute reactions in Tunis and generated tensions in the EU-Tunisia relationship.