11 Euro Nations Sign Up for Financial Transaction Tax

Eleven eurozone nations received permission from the European Commission on October 23 to impose a small tax on all financial transactions.

Under European Union law, a group of at least nine nations can push toward “enhanced cooperation” on an issue, leaving the rest of Europe behind. Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain all desired to move forward with the tax, with Estonia jumping on board at the last minute.

The European Commission ruled that their request meets all the necessary conditions. It now needs approvals from the European Parliament and a qualified majority of EU nations.

This is the most significant instance of a small group of nations moving forward without the rest of the EU. The only other times the enhanced cooperation provision has been used is in simplifying cross-border divorces and cross-border patents.

Supporting nations initially pushed for a financial transaction tax to be introduced across the EU, but it was solidly blocked by nations like Britain and Luxembourg, which have strong banking industries, and by Sweden, which had a bad experience with the tax when introducing it in the ’80s.

That only 11 nations agreed to move forward with the tax is more proof the eurozone needs to shrink further to achieve closer integration as its leaders want.

Earlier in the year, 11 member states formed the “Future of Europe Group,” also known as the “Berlin Group,” to discuss ways EU nations could draw closer together. These aren’t the same 11 that signed up to the transaction tax, but it shows that European leaders realize that to get something done, they must form a smaller group.

The Trumpet has long warned, based on biblical prophecy, that 10 European nations would gather together to form a new superpower, five from the east and five from the west. In this respect, the composition of the financial tax group is probably closer to the final 10 than the Berlin Group was.