8.12.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 3451 I (Acts whose publication is obligatory) REGULATION (EC) No 1781/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 November 2006 on information on the payer accompanying transfers of funds (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (?), Whereas: Flows of dirty money through transfers of funds can dam- age the stability and reputation of the financial sector and threaten the internal market. Terrorism shakes the very foundations of our society. The soundness, integrity and stability of the system of transfers of funds and confidence in the financial system as a whole could be seriously jeop- ardised by the efforts of criminals and their associates either to disguise the origin of criminal proceeds or to transfer funds for terrorist purposes. In order to facilitate their criminal activities, money laun- derers and terrorist financers could try to take advantage of the freedom of capital movements entailed by the inte- grated financial area, unless certain coordinating measures are adopted at Community level. By its scale, Community action should ensure that Special Recommendation VII on wire transfers (SR VII) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATEF) established by the Paris G7 Summit of 1989 is transposed uniformly throughout the European Union, and, in particular, that there is no discrimination between (1) OJ C 336, 31.12.2005, p. 109. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament delivered on 6 July 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision delivered on 7 November 2006. national payments within a Member State and cross- border payments between Member States. Uncoordinated action by Member States alone in the field of cross-border transfers of funds could have a significant impact on the smooth functioning of payment systems at EU level, and therefore damage the internal market in the field of finan- cial services. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 Sep- tember 2001, the extraordinary European Council on 21 September 2001 reiterated that the fight against terror- ism is a key objective of the European Union. The Euro- pean Council approved a plan of action dealing with enhanced police and judicial cooperation, developing international legal instruments against terrorism, prevent- ing terrorist funding, strengthening air security and greater consistency between all relevant policies. This plan of action was revised by the European Council following the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid, and now specifically addresses the need to ensure that the legisla- tive framework created by the Community for the pur- pose of combating terrorism and improving judicial cooperation is adapted to the nine Special Recommenda- tions against Terrorist Financing adopted by the FATF. In order to prevent terrorist funding, measures aimed at the freezing of funds and economic resources of certain persons, groups and entities have been taken, including Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 (), and Council Regula- tion (EC) No 881/2002 (4). To that same end, measures aimed at protecting the financial system against the chan- nelling of funds and economic resources for terrorist pur- poses have been taken. Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (°) contains a number of measures aimed at combating the misuse of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing. Those measures do not, however, fully prevent terrorists and other criminals from having access to payment systems for moving their funds. (%) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 70. Regulation as last amended by Com- mission Regulation (EC) No 1461/2006 (OJ L 272, 3.10.2006, p. 11). (*) OJ L 139, 29.5.2002, p. 9. Regulation as last amended by Commis- sion Regulation (EC) No 1508/2006 (OJ L 280, 12.10.2006, p. 12). () OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15.