Luxemburg/Germany: Juncker fires back at Muentefering

German NTV

The brawl about tax havens is now causing massive distortions inside the EU also. Luxemburg's prime and finance minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the paper "Luxemburg's word" -especially directed at Berlin - that he denies the idea that his country is a tax haven.

"I've held a longer telephone call with Mr.Muentefering and protested vehemently against it that he regards Luxemburg as a tax haven and that he declared publicly that in former times (under Hitler I guess) one would have sent soldiers there (btw, the Nazis pumped a lotta money into Switzerland)," said Juncker, who is the longest serving head of government in the EU. "Especially out of a German moulth such comments are estranging."
Social Dem head Muentefering said at the political Ashwednesday (end of caneval) of Baden Wuerttembergs social dems that tax havens around the globe had to be closed now more accelerated. "In former times one would have sent soldiers there. But today that is impossible."

"German Power-Posing"
The desire of Steinbrueck (German minister of finance) was an "unacceptable intrusion into the autonomy of Luxemburg" by what Luxemburg and Austria should participate in a faster data exchange, said Juncker.
"We are not under German or French command, but we do what we think is right to support an additional density of international rules." Juncker continued: "We won't have us sped. We wont be rounded up (clot), that is just German Power-Posing, which I am forbidding strictly"



Fright for list
Juncker warned against that the big industrial nations put his country on a black list with European aid. That would question the operational method of the European Union. He'll get to the topic during the afternoon during the summit of EU's state and government heads and he will demand from the partners that "they avoid having Luxemburg on such a list."

The demand of sharper handling of the G20 of tax havens caused a brawl with Switzerland during the past days due to comments of Steinbrueck.

Luxemburg and Austria and Belgium got till now in border crossing rate-taxation an exception-status that is permitting full upholding of banking secrets in the EU.