Luxembourg’s decision to sign up to the automatic exchange of savings information leaves Austria isolated as the only country holding out against a European Union-wide agreement.

Maria Fekter, Austria’s finance minister, was assertive, both in public and in private, at the meeting of EU finance ministers last week (12-13 April), and her government has since confirmed support for her stance: it is in no mood to remove the country’s bank-secrecy rules.

In public her fellow finance ministers have sought to play down attempts to persuade Austria to sign up to the EU agreement.

“Our ambition is not to put pressure on one single country but to seize momentum to fight against tax evasion inside the EU and with third countries,” France’s Pierre Moscivici said after the first day of the finance ministers’ meeting in Dublin. “Our move is dedicated to all countries, including Austria.”

But Fekter was unrepentant, saying that Austria would “fight for bank secrecy”, describing it as akin to data protection.

A source aware of the behind-closed-doors discussions among finance ministers on Saturday said that Fekter had welcomed the joint commitment to bank transparency made by France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, but did not see that as a reason why Austria should change its stance.

She also said that it was unfair to put pressure on Austria while some countries, notably the UK, had territories under their jurisdiction that had banking sectors every bit as opaque as Austria’s.

Austria’s reluctance to sign up to automatic exchange of information across the EU also stems from a bilateral deal it reached with Switzerland last year, which has helped it receive around €1bn from the non-EU country in compensation for missing out on tax revenue on funds held by Austrians in secret Swiss accounts. The government has already factored in this money in its attempt to balance its budget.

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