Netherland's Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem during press conference after the Eurogroup's deliberations at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for economic and financial affairs in Bratislava, Slovakia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. Ministers for economic and financial affairs gather for a two-day informal meeting in the Slovak capital, where they will discuss BREXIT, EU economic policies, and the migration crisis. (AP Photo/Bundas Engler) EU finance ministers lined up Saturday behind an EU Commission ruling that technology giant Apple owes billions of euros because it didn't pay the proper tax in the European Union for more than a decade.
Going into the last session of their two-day meeting, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem and others urged Apple to pay a bill that analysts say could reach 19 billion euros ($21 billion) with interest.
The ministers are discussing ways to harmonize tax rules for international companies. Dijsselbloem told reporters that these companies "have an obligation to pay taxes in a fair way."
"International tax loopholes are a thing of the past," he added.
Apple will have to pay back taxes both in the United States and Europe, he said, "so get ready to do that."
Philip Hammond, his British counterpart, said the EU was keen "to make sure that international corporations pay the right tax at the right place."
"That's the fair way to do it, and we are going to make sure it happens," Hammond said.
Both Apple and Ireland, Apple's European headquarters, are appealing the decision, one of several faulting international companies for exploiting European exemptions to pay minimal taxes. Both Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler are contesting rulings handed down last year that they are each about 30 million euros ($33 million) in arrears.
Netherland's Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem during press conference after the Eurogroup's deliberations at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for economic and financial affairs in Bratislava, Slovakia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. Ministers for economic and financial affairs gather for a two-day informal meeting in the Slovak capital, where they will discuss BREXIT, EU economic policies and the migration crisis. (AP Photo/Bundas Engler) Ministers and senior EU officials in the Slovak capital also are urging the Greek government to speed up enactment of economic reforms so it can get its hands on the next batch of bailout cash before the end of October.
Greece, which depends on the money due from the bailout to stay afloat, has recently fallen short of reform commitments, stoking concerns of a flare-up in the country's debt crisis. Because it hasn't delivered on the reform promises it has made, it can't yet get hold of the 2.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) due from this current phase of its bailout program.
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