Ireland's seventh EU Presidency coincides with the 40th anniversary of its membership of the European Union. The full Presidency programme was published. Around 170 meetings will be held in Ireland during the Presidency.

As set out in the Presidency programme, objectives in the tax agenda for the Presidency from January 2013 to June 2014 include:

• further efforts to advance work related to the negotiations of the revised Savings agreements with third countries, notably Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland and to the revision of the existing EU Directive on Taxation of Savings.
• the examination of other legislative proposals currently on the table, such as the proposal for a Directive on the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), will be taken forward as appropriate.
• continuing the work on the common system of value added tax in line with the Council Conclusions of May 2012, with a view to creating a simpler, more efficient, robust and fraud-proof VAT system tailored to the Single Market. The main priorities will be the modernisation and simplification of the current system, the reduction of administrative burdens and costs for operators and tax administrations and combating VAT fraud. The review of the Directive on the taxation of energy products and electricity will be pursued.
• furthering the Commission's proposal for enhanced cooperation on a Financial Transaction Tax.
• tax policy coordination among Member States will be further pursued. The focus of such cooperation will be on tax policy issues, exchange of best practices, stepping-up the fight against fraud and tax evasion. The Code of Conduct Group on business taxation will continue to examine tax measures that could potentially constitute harmful tax competition.