Ten European Union countries that have pledged to impose a tax on financial transactions on December 8 reached a compromise on some aspects of the levy, and gave themselves another six months to agree on the remaining key issues, including the rate of the tax and the use of its proceeds.

Finance ministers representing 11 EU countries had aimed to strike a deal by the end of this year on the basic form of a tax on financial transactions, after missing a previous official deadline of the end of 2014. But the tentative agreement reached December 8 falls short of a full political deal and does not address several major aspects of the tax, underlining the political differences countries face on the remaining issues.