Bulgaria's Cardiovascular Crisis: Deputy PM Urges Action
Bulgaria is grappling with a staggering burden of cardiovascular diseases, with more than 6 million new cases and over 1.8 million deaths reported annually
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
Luxembourg said on Tuesday it will drop its bank secrecy rules from 2017 in a move that marks a breakthrough in global efforts to reduce tax evasion.
At a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, the country’s finance minister Pierre Gramegna said it would sign up to an international standard aimed at fighting tax dodging and money laundering.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development last year published a document that foresaw an annual exchange of bank information between governments starting in 2017.
Helped by its bank secrecy rules, the Grand Duchy nestled between Germany and France has become one of Europe's biggest financial centres, making its citizens the EU's wealthiest in terms of per-capita income.
“Bank secrecy is dead and automatic exchange of information will be applied in its widest form," the EU's taxation commissioner Algirdas Semeta said at a news conference after the meeting.
Luxembourg's decision will leave Austria as the only EU country allowing an EU citizen to open a bank account in another EU member state without tax authorities in the person's country of origin being informed. Austria said at Tuesday’s meeting it could not agree to drop its bank secrecy rules by 2017 but indicated it may be willing to do so the following year.
Major developed countries led by Germany and the US have spent years trying to convince Luxembourg and Austria to drop their bank secrecy rules.
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The Czech Republic has revealed the dismantling of a vast network of Russian influence spanning across Europe, with Bulgaria among its targeted countries
The European Prosecutor's Office in Sofia has taken legal action against an individual suspected of fraudulent activities involving European subsidies, as announced by the Luxembourg-based institution
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has secured a substantial financial boost from the European Union, receiving over 130 million euros to enhance its ammunition production capabilities
Eurostat's recent publication on Wednesday showed insights into hourly labour costs across the European Union (EU) in 2023, indicating a notable rise compared to the previous year
A major security breach has taken place within the EU police service – Europol, as detailed by the online publication 'POLITICO'
Eurostat's 2021 data indicates that Bulgaria housed the three regions within the European Union exhibiting the highest standardized death rates
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022