#Romania2019.eu / FinMin Teodorovici: We wish to reach agreement on excise duty on alcohol, common excise regime

Romania's Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said on Friday before an ECOFIN meeting in Brussels that he wants to reach a general agreement on a package of directives the directives regarding the structure of excise duties on alcohol and the general regime of excise duties.

"Our desire is to reach a general agreement on both directives, both the directive on the structure of excise duties on alcohol and the regime of common excise duties. Things have advanced as discussions, and hopefully an agreement of the participants after today's talks," said Teodorovici.

Asked if Romania's proposal on the maximum amount of alcohol that can be distilled by households of 175 liters /year, Teodorovici said that there are other countries that have a different opinion and will see what the arguments are.

"There are talks, there will be talks at ECOFIN with the finance ministers; there are various proposals, countries that of course have another opinion, and we are trying to see what the arguments are in relation to the proposals that Romania has made. I am glad that other countries, such as Hungary and other member states, have understood and supported these proposals. I hope, however, that at the end of the day we will have an agreement on both directives (...) because that was the intention of Romania. Our negotiating strategy as holders of the presidency was to reach agreement on both directives," said Teodorovici.

Romania's finance minister presides over a meeting of the EU Council for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) on Friday.

According to a press statement released by the Ministry of Finance, the agenda of the meeting includes items such as the directive on the structures of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, the common excise duty directive, digital taxation, the revision of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, the European semester.