By PAUL O’DONOGHE, Senior Correspondent
THE European Parliament must approve the proposed changes to the EU’s AML (anti-money laundering) blacklist, the bloc’s Financial Services Commissioner has warned.
Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque also sought to reassure MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) around the proposed removal of the UAE (United Arab Emirates).
“Many countries have made big efforts to improve their frameworks for fighting money laundering and their cooperation with the EU,” she said in an address to the European Parliament.
“It is important to acknowledge this progress and to proceed with their delisting.
“Failing to do so will mean that some of these countries are facing huge economic consequences. It will also undermine the EU’s credibility as a reliable partner.”
Ms Albuquerque spoke in the European Parliament in an effort to get MEPs to approve the European Commission’s proposed changes to the EU’s AML blacklist.
The EU list identifies “high-risk jurisdictions” with “strategic deficiencies” in their AML regimes.
It has not been updated since 2023. The EU list is proposed by the European Commission. It normally closely follows suggestions from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the body which sets international AML standards.
The Commission proposal must then be approved by MEPs in the European Parliament, MEPs can only approve or reject the Commission’s proposal, not amend it.
Earlier this month, the Commission published its formal updated proposal. High profile changes include removing the UAE and adding Monaco.
Ms Albuquerque said the changes must be approved by the Parliament.
“Not having an updated list has an impact on the competitiveness of our financial sector. [It] instills uncertainty in the union’s business environment,” she said.
“I therefore want to strongly call for your support to ensure that this updated EU list can enter into force.”
MEP concerns
Several MEPs voiced concern over the proposed updates. These mostly centred around removing the UAE from the list. They said the jurisdiction has not done enough to combat reports of large-scale money laundering.
The UAE was previously grey-listed by the FATF, although it was removed in 2024. It has recently handed out several AML fines amid a crackdown.
German MEP Birgit Sippel also said the Commission’s proposals are too closely aligned with the FATF.
“I have the impression that more or less the commission is simply copy pasting the reports and decisions from the FATF,” she said.
However, Ms Albuquerque rejected this.
“I would argue again that we are not simply doing a copy paste. The fact is that we add conditions,” she said.
“We have top ups on the conditions that are imposed by FATF. And we have indeed managed to get significant further commitments from some of these jurisdictions since they were delisted by FATF.”
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