The second round of negotiations took place at the seat of the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday. At the meeting, Swiss Delegate for International Taxation Conventions, Professor Robert Waldeburger offered again to introduce a system of tax retention (or 'paying agent tax'), which the Swiss government argues represents an effective 'equivalent measure' to the EU's automatic information exchange plans.

According to the Finance Ministry statement, the talks also covered the possibility of foreign bank clients in Switzerland being able to choose between the withholding tax or information exchange with the tax authorities in their country of residence, and the possible extension of a clause contained in the - not yet ratified - double taxation agreement with Germany, which allows for targeted information exchange in cases of tax fraud.

The Swiss Ministry of Finance went on to stress that all offers made during the negotiation process are conditional on the European Union obtaining agreement from other third countries:

'Of particular importance is the question of the USA's willingness to cooperate. Switzerland will keenly follow developments in this regard. In addition, the Swiss delegation once again expressed its concern that the EU was not conducting similar negotiations with other important financial centres, notably in Asia,' the statement concluded.

According to reports, the negotiations are set to continue in Bern, although no date has been set for further talks as yet.