Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama addressed forum leaders at the Pacific ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific) countries session in Tuvalu where he shared Fiji’s position post-Cotonou.

The Prime Minister said: “It is regrettable that despite the ongoing discussions at the ACP Ambassadors level in Brussels, as well as with our respective tax jurisdictions, the European Union has for the second year running, unilaterally decided to include six forum island countries, including four Pacific-ACP States in its purported list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes”.

Prime Minister Bainimarama stated that Fiji’s tax policies, like that of the other fellow listed countries, were in line with international standards and did not create any tax avoidance opportunities that would allow EU businesses to artificially shift their profits to Fiji to minimise tax.

He added that international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have spoken highly of Fiji’s tax reforms during their various missions to Fiji and have used Fiji as a model for responsible and innovative economic policy in the region.

Fiji is calling on the forum members to renew their call on the EU to re-examine its criteria and allow for countries to retain sufficient policy space to incentivise development.

“As we negotiate a successor agreement, we must ensure that the new agreement is founded on the principle of genuine ‘partnership of equals’ between the Pacific and the EU, recognising the need to address the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of the Pacific Island countries,” PM Bainimarama said.

Meanwhile, the session was chaired by the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, who is the incumbent chair of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting.

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