Mr. Bert Zuijdendorp:

No, quite the opposite in fact. Ireland has been a very constructive partner in our discussions, even on the 2011 proposal. I should stress that those discussions were at the technical level, however. They never reached the level of political decision-making. It has always been made clear, not just by Ireland but by other member states as well, that engagement and active participation in technical discussions was without prejudice to the political appreciation of these proposals. In that context, it is early days. We have just issued our proposal and have had a first presentation by Commissioner Moscovici to the ECOFIN Council, where first reactions were broadly positive or at least there were no member states standing up and saying that they would never accept this. It is still early days and we know, of course, that when we start discussing the details of these proposals, that concerns will be raised and positions will be expressed by the different member states. We are very much looking forward to those discussions.

The ECOFIN Council has already adopted some first conclusions on the package, that is, on the CCCTB as well as on the anti-tax avoidance, ATA, ll and dispute resolution proposals. At least in regard to the CCCTB proposals it has asked the incoming presidencies to continue to work on them. There has been an invitation to the Maltese and Estonian presidencies to work on these files during their terms. It is very important that these proposals do not just land on the nearest shelf but that there is actually an active debate on them at the Council.