Speaking ahead of Council and Commission statements on the state of implementation of anti-money laundering legislation, S&D MEPs have called on EU governments to step up their efforts for closer cooperation between member states, and a comprehensive European anti-money laundering framework with an Authority and a single rulebook.
“Recent scandals such as the Danske Bank case have revealed glaring gaps in the EU’s anti-money laundering system. Dodgy regimes and companies, terrorists and tax evaders abuse the loopholes created by member states that unevenly apply EU rules or that do not apply the rules at all. We welcome the Commission’s efforts to enforce and implement the existing rules better, but this can only be a first step,” said Jonás Fernández, MEP and S&D Group spokesperson on economy.
“The S&D Group has been pushing tirelessly for stronger supervision and harsher sanctions for banks involved in money laundering. It is high time to move beyond minimum standards of legislation to a comprehensive European anti-money laundering framework which must include an Authority with a single rulebook,” concluded Fernández.
“According to Europol, roughly one percent of Europe’s annual GDP is involved in money laundering connected to corruption, arms trafficking, human trafficking, tax crimes or terrorism. It is alarming that some member states drag their feet on implementing EU rules to crack down on financial crimes, thereby seriously endangering the integrity of our Union and the security of our citizens,” added Birgit Sippel, MEP and S&D Group spokesperson on civil liberties, justice and home affairs.
“Confronted with increasingly complex and cross-border criminal activities, we must up our game. Closer cooperation and exchange of financial information between member states is urgently called for. This is why we back the creation of an EU support and coordination mechanism to facilitate the joint analysis and seamless exchange of information between national Financial Intelligence Units. Such a mechanism would ensure the adoption of common legal standards, as well as the protection and security of personal data.”
