According to Vestager, other priorities for the Danish Presidency include strengthening economic governance rules, financial crisis management, co-operation on tax matters and energy taxation to meet climate targets.

Vestager stressed the importance of the European Parliament's role, not just as a legislator, but also in promoting co-operation among the 27 European Union member states and the 17 eurozone countries, in particular the future fiscal compact 26 (which excludes the UK).

As regards efforts to promote cooperation in specific areas, Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Throning-Schmidt recently confirmed that Denmark is open to discussion on the subject of a financial transactions tax, and that if some countries were eager to speed up discussions, then the Danish government would be willing to facilitate this request.

The Danish Prime Minister nevertheless underscored Denmark’s preference for a financial transactions tax imposed at global level, expressing concerns that a tax imposed merely at European-level could adversely affect both the economy and employment – key priority areas for the Danish Presidency – and that the European Commission’s September proposals might not be robust enough.

Thorning-Schmidt underlined the need to listen to the advice of experts, who have warned of relocations as a result – an allusion to events in Sweden, where taxes on financial and currency transactions were introduced in the 1980s, although abolished shortly afterwards as trading volumes plummeted.

Following a recent bilateral meeting in Paris with his French counterpart François Baroin, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble announced that Germany plans to see if a political consensus on a financial transactions tax at European Union level can be achieved in the first quarter of the year.

Underscoring the need to find a solution as quickly as possible, Schäuble mooted the idea of implementing the tax solely in the eurozone, if the European Union fails to reach an agreement, while emphasizing that his own coalition government in Berlin remains divided on the issue.

After the talks, French Finance Minister François Baroin reiterated France’s intention to adopt a pioneering role in implementing the tax, and called for the Danish Presidency of the EU to intensify its work on concrete details and on a precise timeframe.

Baroin had recently confirmed government plans to impose a financial transactions tax on shares, securities, and derivatives, while providing his assurances that government bonds would remain unaffected by the proposed levy.

At the time, Baroin revealed that the concrete timeframe for application of the planned tax would be considered during forthcoming parliamentary discussions in February.

Alluding to the fact that a European directive on the tax is currently being drafted, the French finance minister acknowledged that the UK and Sweden remain opposed to such a levy, while underscoring the government’s aim for the levy to be adopted by the 17 eurozone member states, or possibly by more countries if there is the support.

Paris is also prepared to proceed unilaterally if need be.

Unveiled back in September, the Commission’s proposal aims to impose throughout the EU from 2014 a 0.1% tax on shares and bond transactions and a 0.01% levy on derivative transactions, to yield around EUR55bn (USD70.1bn).

Yet in order for the tax to be applied at EU level, it requires approval from all 27 EU member states.

While the idea of a financial transactions tax is backed by France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, and also by the European Commission, the UK, Sweden and Malta share Denmark’s view and remain vehemently opposed to the levy.