The Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, whose term of office began on Saturday 1 July, will have to make progress on the ‘money laundering’ package, which includes a strengthened ‘AMLR’ regulation, the ‘AMLD6’ directive and the regulation establishing the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).
The purpose of the enhanced regulation is to harmonise the rules, particularly on customer due diligence, beneficial ownership and the powers and duties of supervisory authorities and Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
The ‘AMLD6’ is intended to replace the previous directives ‘AMLD4’ and ‘AMLD5’ by updating and completing the elements that are not transferred to the new regulation.
Finally, the AMLA regulation aims to create a new European authority to combat money laundering, which will modify the rules of supervision and strengthen cooperation between FIUs.
The three texts are currently the subject of institutional negotiations, since the European Parliament adopted its position at the end of March (see EUROPE 13151/15). One of the most delicate issues will be determining the headquarters of the AMLA. Spain submitted Madrid’s bid, which is in competition with Paris, Frankfurt (see EUROPE 13194/19), Vienna, Vilnius and Luxembourg. The European Commission said it will help the co-legislators to determine the location by assessing the bids in an objective and reasoned manner (see EUROPE 13182/2).
The European list of high-risk third countries will also be updated (see EUROPE 13184/6).
To read the Spanish Presidency’s programme: https://aeur.eu/f/7v4 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)