The EU’s List of Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions Explained

The EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, which is updated twice a year, is part of the EU Council’s work to fight tax evasion and avoidance. It is composed of countries which have failed to fulfil their commitments to comply with tax good governance criteria within a specific timeframe, and countries which have refused to do so.

On 17 February 2026, the Council adopted the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. The 10 countries which are on that list are:

• American Samoa

• Anguilla

• Guam

• Palau

• Panama

• Russia

• Turks and Caicos Islands

• US Virgin Islands

• Vanuatu

• Viet Nam

Both within the EU and at the international level, the EU is working to promote and strengthen tax good governance mechanisms, fair taxation and global tax transparency in order to tackle tax fraud, evasion and avoidance.

The aim of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, is not to name and shame countries, but 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 and jurisdictions which cooperate with the EU and have no pending commitments can be found by clicking here.

How is the list updated?

Since it was first established in 2017, the list has been updated regularly and revised as a result of dynamic monitoring of the measures implemented by jurisdictions to comply with their commitments.

This is a continuous monitoring process that follows a set of procedural guidelines and which includes:

• updating criteria in line with international tax standards

• screening countries against these criteria

• engaging with countries that do not comply

• listing and de-listing countries as they undertake (or fail to undertake) reforms

• monitoring developments to ensure that jurisdictions do not backtrack on previous reforms.

The Council decided to limit updates of the list to twice a year, to allow the EU member states sufficient time to amend domestic legislation where needed.

What are the listing criteria?

To be considered cooperative for tax purposes, jurisdictions are screened on a number of criteria, established by the Council.

The criteria have been designed to evolve over time, so that they are aligned with international tax good governance standards. Click here for further details.

The listing criteria relate to:

• tax transparency

• fair taxation

• measures against base erosion and profit shifting.

There are both defensive and non-defensive measures that can be utilised. For the EU list to be effective, it is important that EU member states put in place efficient defensive measures in non-tax and tax areas. Defensive measures help to protect their tax revenues and fight against tax fraud, evasion and abuse.

Regarding non-tax areas, the Council invited EU institutions and member states to take the EU list into account in:

• foreign policy

• development cooperation

• economic relations with third countries

Furthermore, certain EU funding rules now explicitly refer to the list. Funds from several EU instruments cannot be channelled through entities in listed countries. 

Written by Amanda Nicolaou

Legal Advisor

Felix Negribus

---

For further advice on this topic, or related issues, please do not hesitate to contact us for professional advice.