Brussels, 24/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday in Strasbourg, MEPs approved a raft of measures to tackle organised crime, corruption and money laundering as set out in an EU action plan for 2014-2019. A press release explained that seizing the financial assets of organised crime networks and choking off their sources of income tops the priority list. The non-legislative resolution was prepared by Salvatore Iacolino (EPP, IT) and it was approved by 526 votes to 25, with 87 abstentions. The rapporteur stated that this resolution is “a list of concrete actions to be implemented over the next legislative term. This is a common challenge to criminal systems”. Europol figures indicate 3,600 international criminal organisations are operating in the EU in 2013, of which 70% have members in different countries.
Recommendations from MEPs stipulate that people convicted in final judgments of organised crime, corruption or money laundering should be banned from bidding for any public procurement contract anywhere in the EU and barred from running for or holding any public office. ?MEPs repeat their long-standing call for a European Public Prosecutor's Office to be set up to coordinate national investigations and combat crimes affecting the EU's financial interests. It is vital to attack organised crime's assets more effectively, say MEPs, who advocate abolishing banking secrecy and eliminating EU tax havens.
MEPs want tougher penalties against people traffickers and better protection for their victims in an effort to eradicate human trafficking and forced labour. They want “the fight against forced labour to focus on the places where cheap forced labour is exploited”. Trafficking in human beings generates criminal profits estimated at €25 billion a year and affects all EU countries. The International Labour Organisation puts the total number of forced labourers in the EU at around 880,000, of whom 270,000 are victims of sexual exploitation.
Parliament says it is essential to reach a decision on a single legal definition of mafia-type criminal activity, which should include the crime of involvement in a mafia-type organisation. (SP/transl.fl)