WRITTEN QUESTION E-2809/99 by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission. Money laundering.
C 303 E/114 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 will include the creation of a network, training of the Mediterranean investment institutions and regional investment promotion. The total Community financial contribution for this three years programme amounts to € 3,95 million. The Commission also actively supports and co-finances the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency to organise a large Euro-Mediterranean Investment Conference which will take place in Lisbon from 28th February to 1st March, 2000. In the field of the single market the Commission is preparing a new regional programme ü to be decided in the course of this year. The European single market has demonstrated the benefits which can be derived from free trade between open markets. The objective of this future programme is to extend the economic experience made in Europe to the Mediterranean partners. The programme, which is also planned for a period of three years, will include wide-ranging information and awareness raising activities on the single market concept in general, as well as training on more specific issues, such as customs, free movement of goods, public procurement, financial services, auditing and accounting, protection of personal data and rules for competition. intellectual property rights, (2000/C 303 E/111) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2809/99 by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Money laundering In view of the fact that Italian and other European banks have set up offices in so-called offshore countries, that such countries do not cooperate with investigations into money laundering and that a number of EU countries, such as Luxembourg, maintain very strict banking secrecy laws, can the Commission say: ü what means are available to it to combat money laundering; ü whether there are any plans, in the context of the next Intergovernmental Conference, to abolish banking secrecy in EU Member States where laws exist to protect it? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (25 February 2000) The fight against money laundering has both first and third pillar aspects. Under the first pillar all of the Member States have implemented Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering (1). The Commission has presented two reports (2) to the Parliament and the Council on the implementation of institutions must notify the this Directive. The main requirement appropriate authorities of any suspicion of money laundering. In such cases banking secrecy rules must be set aside. is that banks and other financial In July 1999 the Commission tabled a proposal (3) to update and extend the 1991 Directive. A number of anti-money laundering initiatives have also been taken or are in progress under the third pillar, in particular in the context of the implementation of the action plan to combat organised crime (4) endorsed at the Amsterdam European Council in 1997. As regards the issue of offshore centres, recommendation No 30 of the action plan calls on Member States to áexamine how to take action and provide adequate defences against the use by organised crime of financial centres and offshore facilitiesí. To take this work forward a study by the University of Trento is being cofinanced under the Falcone Programme. The final report should soon be available. 24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/115 Reference should also be made to the important work currently being undertaken by the Financial action task force on money laundering (FATF) (5), on the basis of a mandate from the Group of seven most industrialised countries (G7), to identify those countries and territories (whether offshore or onshore and possibly including the FATFís own members) which provide insufficient co-operation in the global fight against money laundering. This work will involve a world-wide examination of all significant financial centres against a number of criteria (including that of excessive secrecy). The FATF is planning to issue a list of such countries and territories in June 2000. (1) OJ L 166, 28. 6. 1991. (2) COM(95) 54 final and COM(98) 401 final. (3) COM(1999) 352 final. (4) OJ C 251, 15. 8. 1997. (5) The FATF is the foremost world body dedicated to the fight against criminal money. It was created by the G7 in 1989 and currently has 28 members, including the Commission and all the Member States. (2000/C 303 E/112) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2811/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Legislation and regulation takes to regulate the The Unionís legislative activity should not be confused with the measures it implementation of legislation. The former should involve the adoption of framework laws under the procedures laid down in the Treaty. The latter should entail measures to amend the procedures and involve the national administrations as directly as possible, so as to spare Parliament excessive or undue effort and allow it instead to devote more time to the discussion and solution of problems more important than the length of asparagus, the flavour of lupins, the size of condoms or the workings of a stud gun. Bearing in mind that Parliament is a political rather than a technical body: 1. Is the Commission aware of the bad name given to the institutions in the eyes of the public when the press carry stories about rules imposed by Brussels on matters of the kind described above involving three or four institutions? 2. Does it agree that attempts to regulate every last detail often have the effect of crippling business activity to the benefit of large companies, which are the only ones able to invest in meeting the new rules, while doing nothing to protect the public by ensuring product quality? 3. Does it not agree that such cases are increasingly alienating sections of the population from Europe, as they become less and less convinced of its purported desire to create unity and increasingly critical of its bureaucratic and centralising approach? 4. Will it put forward proposals to rectify this trend towards excessive legislation as part of the planned institutional reform? Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (20 March 2000) The Commission is aware of the problems raised by the Honourable Member. They will be addressed in the White Paper on better governance to be presented by the Commission in 2001. The Honourable Member is referred to the statements on this topic by the President of the Commission when he presented the Commissionís five-year strategic objectives to Parliament on 15 February 2000