Armenia dodges EU blacklist of tax havens, pledges to improve

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia has not been included in the European Union's blacklist of tax havens, released by the EU’s ECOFIN Council on Tuesday, December 5.

Earlier reports suggested that the 28-member block might include the country on such a list alongside Turkey, Serbia, Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Panama and Tunisia.

The EU said Armenia, alongside 22 other countries, failed tax transparency standards but made sufficient commitments to improve the area of fair taxation.

The EU's final blacklist list includes 17 countries: American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, Korea (Republic of), Macau, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Armenia and the EU signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership agreement in late November. Although the deal lacks trade component, it will nevertheless boost economic ties between the country and the bloc.