Bermuda has been named by the European Union as a country that is not doing enough to crack down on tax avoidance.

The Island was one of 30 countries on the list published by the EU’s executive Commission today.

“These tax havens cover the five continents,” said Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s top tax official. He added said the publication of the blacklist was a “decisive step” that would “push non-cooperative non-EU jurisdictions to be more cooperative and adopt international standards”.

The EU blacklist is made up of countries that figure on at least ten national lists of tax havens compiled by the 28 member nations.

Bermuda is on the tax haven list, despite having signed tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with many EU countries, including Britain, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Although the list highlights only countries outside the EU, the tax avoidance crackdown was sparked by an investigation into the principality of Luxembourg, an EU member country. Luxembourg is alleged to have given preferential tax deals to several multinational companies.

The EU’s tax watchdog aims to make sure that multinationals pay taxes where they generate profits, that tax rules in one country do not penalise others, and that honest businesses don’t lose out to unscrupulous competitors.

“Our citizens can no longer tolerate that certain companies, often the most prosperous, avoid fair tax contributions and that certain tax regimes encourage them on this path,” Mr Moscovici said.

Half the countries named are from the Caribbean region.

The full list is: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, Panama, Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands, Andorra, Guernsey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Liberia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Brunei, Hong Kong, Maldives, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands and Vanuatu.