LUXEMBOURG--Greece on Monday became the seventh European Union country to formally back the imposition of a tax on financial transactions, two EU spokespeople told Dow Jones Newswires.
The controversial tax, known as FTT, needs the backing of at least nine EU countries to go ahead under a process called "enhanced cooperation," which allows EU countries to coordinate on policies that don't have the support of all 27 member states.
The initiative to move to a harmonized tax on financial transactions has been led by Germany and France. Portugal, Slovenia, Belgium and Austria have also formally backed the proposal over the last few days.
Germany and France hope to get to the requisite nine-country backing here in Luxembourg, where EU finance ministers will be meeting Tuesday. The Greek decision came at the meeting among the 17 euro-zone finance ministers taking place ahead of the wider EU ministers' meeting.
Write to Matina Stevis at matina.stevis@dowjones.com.
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