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Fuelling the conflict within the European Union over the issue of tax havens, remarks made – once again undiplomatically – by Germany’s Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, have received fierce criticism from neighbouring Luxembourg.

Incensed by Steinbrück’s comparison of bordering countries Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg to the African State of Burkina Faso, in terms of tax policy, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn has referred to the German Finance Minister’s unsurpassable arrogance and unprofessional rhetoric – which has descended to the level of bar room banter.

In response to a query regarding attendance at the forthcoming tax conference in Berlin in June, Steinbrück stated that Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria and Ouagadougou – capital of the developing west-African State of Burkina Faso – would indeed be invited to the conference, in order to be able to account personally for their tax policies. Up until now, Ouagadougou had not attracted attention as a tax haven.

The German Finance Minister’s most recent blunder follows hot on the heels of another controversial comment, when he compared the crackdown on tax havens in Europe to the US cavalry’s struggle against the Indians – a pointed reference to Switzerland.

Luxembourg is still reeling from a decision taken during the G20 meeting in London earlier this year to include it on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s ‘grey list’ of countries which have not yet implemented their commitment to the Organisation’s standards.