Hungary lifts veto on Pillar 2 – Council reaches unanimity

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  • Last night the EU Council  reached an agreement to implement Pillar 2 (press release) after Hungary dropped its veto on the matter.
  • The next step is to start the written procedure and to publish the Pillar 2 Directive in the Official Journal of the EU.
  • The envisaged timeline to implement Pillar 2 into domestic law is still the end of  2023, to enter into effect in 2024. So this is in line with the timeline indicated by a number of the larger Member States as the ultimate deadline.
  • Note that as long as the written procedure has not been completed and there has been no publication in the Official Journal of the EU, it cannot be excluded that Hungary (or another Member State) will take initiatives to obtain further concessions.
  • The unanimity is generally welcomed as there was a general expectation that without the consensus multiple Member States would proceed with a unilateral implementation. With a Directive, there is an increased ability for the EU Member States to introduce Pillar 2 in a more harmonised manner.
  • The key message for businesses remains the same, even with this unanimity in the EU: there is no time to lose as the Pillar 2 go live date would remain 1 January 2024.

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