The European Commission launched the process of establishing the first common EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The aim is to publish the definitive list of non-cooperative jurisdictions by the end of 2017. The list will be based on a scoreboard of all third countries according to key indicators. As a first step, the scoreboard presents factual information on every country under three neutral indicators, economic ties to the EU, financial activity and stability factors.

The jurisdictions that feature strongly in these three categories are then set against risk indicators, such as their level of transparency or potential use of preferential tax regimes. The assessment does not represent any judgement of third countries while the intention is to help Member States to narrow down their focus when deciding which countries to screen in more detail from a tax good governance perspective. The EU will work closely with the OECD during the listing process, and will take into account the OECD's assessment of jurisdictions' transparency standards.

The new EU listing process is part of the EU's initiatives to limit tax avoidance and promote fairer taxation, within the EU and globally. The common EU list is only intended as a tool to deal with third countries that refuse to respect tax good governance principles, when all other means have failed.