The EU excludes the UAE and some other countries from the black list of countries with unfavorable tax systems.
On the eve of the European Union finance ministers agreed to exclude eight countries, including the heavily criticized Panama, from the blacklist of tax haven countries, a month after its publication.
This decision provoked a protest from many politicians and public activists.
According to EU officials, Barbados, Grenada, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Tunisia, as well as the United Arab Emirates were blacklisted because they "took steps at a high political level to meet the requirements of the European Union."
The blacklist was compiled in December. His task was to stop tax evasion after several offshore schemes were disclosed.
Ministers stated that delisting means that the process is working and countries around the world agree to adopt EU standards for tax transparency.
"Countries around the globe have worked to reform their tax policy. Our goal is to promote the principles of proper tax regulation throughout the world," said Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, EU Presidency.
However, this step has caused strong criticism. Thus, the exclusion of Panama, the country where the so-called “Panama documents” were discovered, was of particular concern.
"The decision made is a recognition of failure. The exclusion of Panama, one of the most tarnished tax havens in the world, from the blacklist is a disaster in the fight against tax evasion," said Marcus Ferber, vice chairman of the Economic Committee of the European Parliament.
According to him, the ministers should, on the contrary, expand the list, adding even EU countries, such as Malta, as well as overseas territories of Great Britain.
