MEPs of the Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) are set to vote on their negotiating position on the anti-money laundering package on Tuesday 28 March. This includes the ‘AMLD6’ , a regulation and the text establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
According to documents obtained by EUROPE, MEPs will reportedly add criteria for determining the seat of the Authority for AML/CFT, which is what the rapporteurs wanted (see EUROPE 12972/23). Furthermore, based on a decision of the Court of Justice of the EU, the competence to decide on the location of the seat of an entity lies with the Union legislator and not with the Member States (see EUROPE 12993/22).
The MEPs hope that this choice will not affect the execution of the Authority’s tasks and powers, the organisation of its governance structure, the operation of its main organisation or the main financing of its activities. It should also be based on recruitment potential and capacity to implement on site as soon as this Regulation comes into force. The quality and reputation of the national AML/CFT framework and the experience of the national authorities will be a criterion as well.
The seat will also need to be accessible for its future employees, with adequate educational facilities for the children of staff members, appropriate access to the labour market, social security and medical care for children and spouses.
The aim is also to ensure a balanced geographical distribution of EU institutions, bodies and agencies.
The EU Council, for its part, adopted a partial position on the modalities of the Authority (see EUROPE 12982/17), leaving the question of the seat open. Six cities have already applied (see EUROPE 13093/10).
As suggested in the debates, the position of the MEPs is expected to give more power to this new body. The Authority could thus take the initiative to ensure a consistent functioning of colleges of supervisors for non-selected obligated entities operating in several Member States, taking into account the systemic risk posed by financial institutions, and should, where appropriate, convene a meeting of a college. The Authority should also play a legally binding mediation role to resolve disputes between financial supervisors, at the request of the latter.
Prudential supervisors, including the European Central Bank, European Supervisory Authority and, where appropriate, Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), should actively participate in these colleges, using them as forums for discussion.
The Authority could also periodically conduct peer reviews of FIU compliance with the requirements of the future rules. To that end, the Authority would develop methods to allow objective assessment and comparison between the FIUs under review. These peer reviews would be carried out by the Authority’s staff in cooperation with FIU personnel.
MEPs should strengthen the chapter on information exchange between the AML/CFT national authorities and FIUs. The text provides guidance on the format and modalities of exchange.
Regarding the scope, the Parliament is expected to align with the EU Council’s position by including the supervision of crypto-assets and their providers. The European Parliament also wants to see risks from third countries taken into account.
To consult the compromise amendments on the legislative proposal establishing the Authority of the AML/CFT: https://aeur.eu/f/60w ; https://aeur.eu/f/60x ; https://aeur.eu/f/60y ; https://aeur.eu/f/60z ; https://aeur.eu/f/610 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)