Council of the European Union Removes Panama and Vietnam from the List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions
On 9 October 2026, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) removed Panama and Vietnam from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
The purpose of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (annex I) is to encourage positive change in their tax legislation and practices through cooperation. Jurisdictions that do not yet comply with all international tax standards but have committed to implementing reforms are included in a state of play document (annex II).
The updated list (annex I) consists of the following jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Russia, Turks and Caicos Island, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu (for the previous update, seeCouncil of the European Union Updates List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions (17 February 2026)).
In addition, the Council approved the overall state of play document (annex II). Belize has been removed from the annex, while Vietnam and Panama were added. Therefore, the list of jurisdictions with pending commitments in the state-of-play document (annex II) includes British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Eswatini, Greenland, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco, Panama, Türkiye and Vietnam.
Report from our correspondent Francesco De Lillo, Principal Associate, IBFD. Follow our reporting on this via our daily Tax News Service (subscribers only).