Projet

THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, hereinafter referred to as "Switzerland",

and

THE EUROPEAN UNION,

both hereinafter referred to as "Contracting Party" or, jointly, as "Contracting Parties",

WITH A VIEW to implementing the OECD Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, hereinafter referred to as "Global Standard", within a framework of cooperation which takes account of the legitimate interests of both Contracting Parties,

WHEREAS the Contracting Parties have a longstanding and close relationship with respect to mutual assistance in tax matters, in particular on the application of measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments¹, and desire to improve international tax compliance by further building on that relationship,

WHEREAS the Contracting Parties desire to conclude an agreement to improve international tax compliance based on reciprocal automatic exchange of information, subject to certain

confidentiality and other protections, including provisions limiting the use of the information exchanged,

¹OJ EU L 157, 26.6.2003, p. 38.

AMP/EU/CH/en 2