Should a dedicated European law enforcement network be created for financial investigations? That is the issue that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU has invited the Law Enforcement Working Group to address. In a note dated 10 April, a copy of which is in EUROPE’s possession, it lists the arguments for and against creating a network of this kind.
The idea originated during the negotiations on the proposal for a Directive on facilitating the use of financial information for the prevention and detection of criminal offences (see EUROPE 12003/19).
“During its recent negotiations of the Directive (…) the Presidency could not overlook the absence of a dedicated law enforcement community for investigations of criminal finances, despite the undoubtedly pivotal importance of this type of criminality for many other areas of crime”, the Romanian authorities explained.
Indeed, the inter-institutional negotiations have shown that it is extremely difficult for Member States to go beyond the provisions in the 2015 Directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing with regard to the exchange of information between financial intelligence units (FIUs).
This was one of the main stumbling blocks between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. The final text allows for an exchange of information between FIUs in different countries in exceptional and urgent cases, but only if they are linked to terrorism or to terrorism-related organised crime (see EUROPE 12192/20).
The arguments for
The first argument in favour of a European network is that currently there is no network linking law enforcement authorities that would allow them to exchange operational information concerning financial investigations.
The Romanian Presidency stressed that FIUs are not currently in a position to focus on organised crime as a whole, as they lack both resources and an appropriate legal basis.
A network made up exclusively of law enforcement authorities would be all the more relevant as financial investigations are an area of activity that is considered a priority for law enforcement across the EU, she continued.
The arguments against
The Romanian Presidency notes, however, that EU FIUs can already be considered a “de facto network” as part of the cooperation between them set out in the 2015 Directive. A dedicated communication channel between FIUs has also been integrated into Europol (FIU.net).
Creating a dedicated European law enforcement network for financial investigations might also cause confusion. In some Member States, FIUs form part of the law enforcement authorities. The same authorities could therefore find themselves having to cooperate with two different sets of partners. In any event, the debate is underway. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)