Luxembourg – Poland is the only EU country today to block the adoption of Ecofin, the global tax treaty for multinational corporations. Despite the amendments, Polish Finance Minister Magdalena Rasekovska said Warsaw was concerned about the different deadlines for adopting the two pillars of the reform. The compromise is “not a legally binding solution to ensure that the first pillar and the second pillar come into force at the same time”, he stressed. As far as we know, Hungary would have given the green light today, but its political resistance is well known.

Valdis Dombrovsky, vice president of the European Commission, hopes to reach an agreement on the next Ecofin on May 24.

The reasons for pushing Warsaw to suspend the deal are “a mystery”, said Bruno Le Meyer, the French finance minister in charge of the current EU presidency, who said he was “not completely convinced” of Warsaw’s position. “All technical difficulties have been resolved,” the minister said, recalling Paris’ response to comments made in recent months and weeks by various states, including Ireland, Estonia, Sweden and Malta. The 52-year-old said he hopes the Irish spirit will still inspire opponents like Warsaw.