ATHENS – Greece will strive to extend the network of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with countries such as Australia and Japan and to revise existing agreements, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras announced on Thursday in parliament, during the ratification of the Greece-France agreement to eliminate double taxation of income tax and the prevention of tax evasion and tax avoidance.

“The Ministry of Finance is actively involved in shaping developments in the field of taxation at the OECD and European Union level, and is already negotiating or planning negotiations in order, on the one hand, to revise existing agreements (e.g. Sweden) and, on the other hand, to extend the network of Double Taxation Agreements with new countries (e.g. Australia, Japan), with a focus on peace, stability and security, through the economic development of the countries’ relations,” Staikouras said.

Speaking before a plenary session of parliament, Staikouras referred to the necessity of developing Greece’s international – and bilateral – economic relations, “especially today”. In this climate, Staikouras said that the finance ministry is constantly looking for original, creative solutions, with respect to international law, due to the economic interdependence between countries with different economic systems or different growth rates.

In relation to the new bilateral agreement with France, Staikouras underlined that it provides the appropriate framework of stability and security for economic actors, citizens and businesses, “and it can act as a driver for economic development, not only for the benefit of the two countries, but of the European Union as a whole, and indeed in an unstable international environment, characterised by successive, overlapping crises and major challenges.”