According to an EU document seen by Reuters, Bahrain, the Marshall Islands and Saint Lucia will likely be removed from the list at an EU finance ministers meeting on 13 March.
The removal follows eight jurisdictions being taken off the list in January, a move heavily criticised by members of the EU Parliament (Meps).
The jurisdictions that will remain on the list are American Samoa, Guam, Namibia, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago.
‘Specific commitments’
For a jurisdiction to be taken off the backlist, they must meet “specific commitments” to bring their tax practices in line with EU standards. These commitments have also drawn criticism from Meps as they are not made public.
Elena Gaita, member of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International EU, told Reuters: “This ever-decreasing list of tax havens will soon be so short it will be able to fit on a post-it.
“It’s time for the EU to publish how it chooses which countries go on the list and why,” she said.
The US Treasury Department has been putting pressure on the EU to remove Guam and American Samoa from the list.
In an open letter to the EU security general in January, the US Treasury secretary said the blacklist “undermines” international standards.
