Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

Le Temps has reported that Jean Claude Juncker raised the question of the Territories of the Crown - Jersey, Guernesey, island of Man, Cayman Islands - at the EU Summit. I fully agree with him.

So are in agreement as well all those who raise objectively the question of tax havens.

But if I were Prime Minister Juncker, to be coherent, I would control much better the set up of companies in Luxembourg. There are many exotic firms in the Luxembourg Corporate Registration, including from jurisdictions like the BVI were authorities need not be informed of the identity of the IBC's shareholders or directors.

Most of these Luxembourg-registered firms are definitely scams that harm the reputation of the Luxembourg financial center.

Richard Murphy has quoted Reuters that reported that Luxembourg does not accept the EU executive’s plan for revising the bloc’s rules on savings tax and exchange of information between member states that go further than the OECD standards adopted last week by Luxembourg.

"We continue to believe Luxembourg is not a tax haven. I have written confirmation from the OECD that Luxembourg does not qualify as a tax haven," Minister Frieden, quoted by Reuters, said.

The key question is : are the OECD current criteria relevant to define what a tax haven is?

I don't think so.

The AFP has reported that Prime Minister Juncker told journalists that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel let him be known that France and Germany would not agree to Luxembourg, Austria or Belgium being put on a tax haven list.

It will be interesting to follow up the evolution of the legislations relating to banking secrecy in the three jurisdictions.

Although the three countries recently said that they would ease their banking secrecy rules to avoid being put on the international blacklist, I cannot see any legislative action to adapt their national law, which should have been a minimum to prove the commitment to relax banking secrecy prior to the G 20.

Which is the utility to implement commitments? The promises engage only those which believe them.