The agreement stipulated that EU member states could choose between two models: information exchanges between tax administrations, or the introduction of a withholding tax with a progressive increase in the rate of revenue which, after a transition period, would reach 35% from 1 January 2011. The move to the generalised automatic exchange of information was coupled to a similar action by third-party countries, including Switzerland. The government had given itself the objective of guaranteeing "the future of a small country in a growing Europe, in an increasingly complicated world". But it was in the framework of development aid that Luxembourg was probably best able to affirm its role on the international scene. Overseas aid, which in previous governments had been under a secretary of state, was now under a fully-fledged minister. Public development aid, which had increased constantly, reached 0,8% of gross national income in 2003. With this number, Luxembourg was in 4th place globally. The Luxembourgish effort was now concentrated geographically on a certain number of target countries, and content-wise, on eradicating poverty, social structures, education, health, and equality of opportunities between men and women. As in the past, the vagaries of the international situation translated themselves into migration movements, which also affected Luxembourg. Especially from 2002, there was increased number of asylum-seekers, which led the government to adapt legislation. The objective was to speed up the procedure, while respecting human rights as well as related international agreements and treaties. In the course of the period 1999-2004, the government several times undertook a forced return of rejected asylum-seekers. While the Luxembourgish economy showed very high growth rates in 1999 and 2000, only outperformed by Ireland, the economic situation changed sharply in 2001. GDP growth fell by 5 percentage points to less than 2,5%. At the same time, the unemployment rate, which had been under 3%, grew to 4,3% by 2003. The economic slow-down brought a decrease of tax receipts, which the government could however compensate by using budget reserves. The fiscal reforms of 2001 and 2002 concerning individuals and businesses turned out to be useful, as they contributed to maintaining domestic demand at a relatively stable level, despite economic disturbances. Despite the difficult economic context, the government maintained significant public investments. The European enlargement led the Luxembourgish State to invest heavily in the improvement and extension of the EU's infrastructure and services, based in Luxembourg. The government was also concerned with consolidating the country as a European seat. In June 2001 building work commenced on the Place de l’Europe in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.