The Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 12 June 2026 approved, without discussion, the biannual ECOFIN report to the European Council on tax issues, summing up taxation work under Cyprus’s Council Presidency. Ministers also signed off on the related biannual report of the Code of Conduct Group on business taxation at the same meeting.
The report records that the Presidency reached a general approach on EPPO and OLAF access to VAT data and advanced the tobacco taxation package and the directive abolishing the EUR 150 distance-sales threshold. The tobacco excise overhaul itself fell short, however, being pulled from the 12 June agenda amid member-state concerns over the proposed rate increases and adjustment mechanism.
On non-legislative work, it highlights the EU’s tax simplification drive, including a planned omnibus and the withdrawal of four stalled files such as the financial transaction tax and the “Unshell” directive. The document also updates progress on the OECD’s Pillar Two package and the ongoing UN talks toward a Framework Convention on international tax cooperation.