Written question asked by Lord Redwood (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 October 2003. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 October 2003 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he defines administrative co-operation in the draft EU constitution Article III-63 on company taxation; how he defines combating tax fraud and tax evasion in Article III - 63 of the draft EU Constitution.

Answer: Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (1) how he defines administrative co-operation in the draft EU constitution Article III-63 on company taxation; [134308] (2) how he defines combating tax fraud and tax evasion in Article III--63 of the draft EU Constitution. [134320] Dawn Primarolo: The draft EU Constitutional Treaty proposed by the Convention on the Future of Europe does not contain definitions of these terms. Any changes to the provisions of the existing EU Treaties, including those in Article HI-63 of the draft Treaty, require the unanimous agreement of all Member States. The Government has made it clear in its White Paper "The British Approach to the European Union Intergovernmental Conference 2003" that it will insist that tax matters continue to be decided by unanimity.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 412 c242W;412 c250W; 134308;134320
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Companies Constitutions Convention on the Future of Europe European Union Taxation
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk