Panama City: The EU tax blacklist faces its next revision in October 2026, and finance ministers are due to approve conclusions on the biannual list of non-cooperative jurisdictions at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 9 October in Luxembourg. Panama and nine other jurisdictions sit on the list today, so each review matters for governments that want to leave it or avoid joining it.
The last update came on 17 February 2026. The Council added Turks and Caicos Islands and Viet Nam and removed Fiji, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago, according to its press release. Turks and Caicos fell short over concerns that the OECD forum on harmful tax practices raised about the enforcement of economic substance requirements, while Viet Nam did not meet the OECD Global Forum standard on exchange of information on request.
The EU tax blacklist now names ten jurisdictions in its first annex: American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. A second annex tracks nine jurisdictions that cooperate but still owe reforms: Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Eswatini, Greenland, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco and Türkiye.
The Council judges countries on three areas: tax transparency, fair taxation and measures against base erosion and profit shifting, in line with OECD good governance standards. The Code of Conduct Group monitors tax practices and talks to jurisdictions about their commitments. The Council reviews the EU tax blacklist twice a year, which gives governments time to change their laws before the next decision.
Several cases deserve attention before October. Brunei received a six-month extension in February to reform its foreign-source income exemption, so its progress will draw questions. Antigua and Barbuda and Seychelles earned positive ratings and left the monitoring document, while American Samoa, Guam and the US Virgin Islands saw their entries updated to reflect compliance efforts but stayed on the list.
Listing carries real consequences. Member states can apply defensive measures against listed jurisdictions, and the label signals to banks and investors that a country falls short of international standards. For governments, the EU tax blacklist works as a lever for reform more than as a punishment, because jurisdictions regularly leave the list after they change their rules.
Businesses and advisers should watch the Council’s decision closely. A new listing can trigger enhanced scrutiny of payments and structures that involve the jurisdiction, so tax departments of multinational groups usually update their risk maps after each revision.
The 9 October meeting will show whether the EU tax blacklist grows, shrinks or stays the same. Jurisdictions on the second annex that meet their commitments can still avoid the first annex, while those that stall risk joining Panama and Viet Nam on the list.
