Money-laundering law could increase controls at Europe’s borders

By Anna McLauchlin

Date: 10/11/04

Ambassadors from the EU member states will today (10 November) try to hammer out a compromise on an EU-wide law against money-laundering.

As it stands the draft proposal, adopted by the European Commission in June 2002 and amended by the European Parliament in May 2003, would force people entering or leaving the EU with more than €15,000 in cash to declare this sum to the customs authorities.

Member states would also have to improve their border controls and share information on money passing through their borders to crack down on criminal activity.

When the proposal was announced, the Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said it would allow EU-wide monitoring of cross-border cash movements, rather than the fragmented control under the 1991 EU money-laundering directive.

Issues of disagreement to be negotiated in the Council of Ministers include the permitted cash threshold. Some member states, notably France and Malta, want to see this reduced to €10,000, while others insist that any cash-level lower than €15,000 would place an unnecessary administrative burden on their customs authorities.

There is also no agreement as yet on how declarations should be made and how authorities should record and exchange information. Some member states think people should declare their cash in writing and authorities should keep a record of all declarations while others, particularly the UK, want a more relaxed approach.

EU ambassadors will try to thrash out the main arguments in time for finance ministers to reach a common position at next week's Ecofin meeting (17 November). If they do so, Parliament will then get a second look at the proposal.

Article reports on Coreper negotiations on an EU-wide law against money-laundering. The draft proposal, adopted by the European Commission in June 2002 and amended by the European Parliament in May 2003, will make it necessary for people entering or leaving the EU to declare cash sums above a certain threshold.