Couchepin Defends Against Anti-European Allegations

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

17 April 2002

Responding to remarks made by the President of the European Commission at the weekend, Swiss Economics Minister Pascal Couchepin observed that the country is 'surprisingly European' even though it is not a member of the European Union.

In an interview with Sunday newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, European Commission Chief, Romano Prodi criticised Swiss banking secrecy laws - which are currently slowing negotitions on a second set of bilateral treaties between the 15 nation bloc and Switzerland - as 'outdated', and argued that the current legislation protects 'money stemming from unknown sources, which could include dirty funds'.

Mr Prodi further commented that in his opinion, banking secrecy is an 'instrument' rather than a fundamental value, such as the Alpine country's famous neutrality, and should be discarded as 'ill-fitting' given the current international climate on money laundering and tax evasion.

He added that: 'If Switzerland does not want to join the EU because of the importance it attributes to banking secrecy, then I think the country should not join the union.'

However, speaking at a Swiss reception at the Hannover Industrial Fair in Germany, the Swiss Economics Minister stressed the country's European nature and strong economic ties with the European Union.

'Although Switzerland politically has not joined the EU, the country is European from a cultural and in particular economic point of view,' he observed, giving as an example the fact that the country was active in preparing for the euro since 1999, and that the vast majority of Swiss export companies are now 'euro compatible'.

According to official estimates, around 60% of Swiss exports are destined for the European Union, and the country imports some 80% of its goods from within the Union.

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