European Finance Ministers will meet on Thursday 10 October in Luxembourg for a meeting on the main theme of money laundering. They will also discuss the final report of the expert group on the European financial architecture for development.
The EU Council will first discuss progress in the implementation of its December 2018 Action Plan to combat money laundering, as well as possible future reforms. The European Commission will also present to ministers its four reports, published on 24 July last (see EUROPE 12303/2), which identify the shortcomings of the current framework.
In particular, ministers will be invited to discuss the most appropriate scope for further reforms, the aspects that would benefit most from the greater harmonisation that a regulation would bring, how to ensure effective cooperation between the authorities and bodies concerned, as well as how best to address problems related to poor oversight, including the idea of creating a new EU body dedicated to this task (see EUROPE 12339/13).
Several sources considered that this will be an “important discussion”, which will allow ministers to take a position and the Commission to observe the different balances. The discussion will indeed serve as a basis for future EU Council conclusions on a strategic agenda on the fight against money laundering, which the Presidency intends to have adopted on 5 December.
In a separate discussion, they will discuss the Commission's new methodology for drawing up the European list of non-Member States with anti-money laundering arrangements that pose a threat to the European financial system (see EUROPE 12193/28).
It will mainly be a presentation by the Commission and an exchange of views, one European source explained. The discussion should not focus on the countries that could be included in the list, but only on the main elements of the new methodology (see EUROPE 12209/12). According to our information, the impression is rather positive on the part of the Member States, which would acknowledge the efforts made by the Commission to improve engagement with non-Member States upstream.
No formal decision is to be expected on 10 October, but if no significant objections from Member States are raised during the discussion, this should pave the way for the Commission to start work on the list of countries itself.
Financial architecture for development. The Chairman of the of the expert group for the European financial architecture for development, Thomas Wieser, will present his final report to ministers, which will be made public on Wednesday 9 October.
This expert group was set up in April 2019 (see EUROPE 12228/19) to present a report setting out the challenges of streamlining the financing modalities of development policies at EU level and recommendations for reforming the existing structure, including a review of the relationship between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The report also argues that development financing and climate actions outside the EU must be consolidated and streamlined to avoid duplication and to strengthen the EU's presence, visibility and role, as well as its ability to deliver on its development priorities in the long term. According to our information, the group adopted an analytical approach and the report reportedly contain several options rather than just one.
The subject should also be discussed at the November Development Foreign Affairs Council and Council conclusions should be adopted in December.
2019 European Semester. The EU Council will also exchange views on the lessons learned from the 2019 European Semester financial year. The discussion should focus on the main new features of the 2019 European Semester, namely the explicit attention given to investment in all country recommendations, as well as the fact that the country recommendations also address issues related to aggressive tax planning and the fight against money laundering.
Capital Markets Union. A Commission information point on the Capital Markets Union (CMU) is also on the agenda. This could be an opportunity for the Executive Vice-President designate, Valdis Dombrovskis, to develop before the ministers the proposals he will have made to the European Parliament at its hearing on 8 October.
It should be noted that the Demarigny report of the high-level working group on the CMU, launched by France, Germany and the Netherlands, should have been published by then and that the discussion could refer to it (see EUROPE 12257/5).
Taxation. As announced, the EU Council is expected to approve, without discussion, Switzerland's removal from the European ‘grey’ list of non-Member States that present tax risks but have committed to take corrective measures (see EUROPE 12339/27), as well as removing Albania, Costa Rica, Serbia and Mauritius. It should also agree to remove the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands from the European ‘black’ list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
In addition, the ten Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT) will meet before the start of the ECOFIN Council on Thursday to further advance their work (see EUROPE 12275/2).
Other topics on the agenda include the proposal for a governance framework for the euro area convergence and competitiveness instrument (see EUROPE 12303/3). This should only be a presentation by the Commission and no debate is expected on this point. The President of the European Court of Auditors will also present to ministers the annual report on the management of the EU's general budget for the 2018 financial year, which is expected to be published on 8 October. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)