Switzerland is no tax haven, Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz has told a meeting of his European counterparts in Berlin.

He said that Switzerland had already renegotiated six agreements on double taxation since March, when the government revised its position on providing information to foreign countries about suspected tax cheats.

There is no reason to doubt Switzerland's integrity, he said.

Switzerland wants a transparent monitoring process, based on objective and jointly-determined criteria in the implementation of the exchange of information, he said.

He stressed the importance of shared responsibility for international cooperation in tax matters, involving both states where bank deposits are held and the state of residence of the account holders.

The meeting was called by the German and French finance ministers to discuss the implementation of standards laid down by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development on the exchange of information in tax matters.

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