EU to adopt minimum corporate tax with or without Hungary, says France

PARIS (Reuters) - EU member states will adopt plans for a minimum corporate tax rate in the bloc in the coming months regardless of whether holdout nation Hungary backs the reform, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

Hungary raised last minute objections earlier this month to the European Union's adoption of a 15% minimum corporate tax, blocking a deal that would have turned a global reform into law across the bloc.

"The minimum tax will be implemented in the coming months with or without Hungary's backing," Le Maire told a news conference on France's EU presidency, which closes on Thursday.

Le Maire added he was working with EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni on a legal alternative that would allow the member states to circumvent the problem of Hungary's veto.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)