Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-03-Speech-1-104"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060703.16.1-104"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the reservations expressed by the rapporteur, Mr Alvaro, were explained and discussed in detail by both of the committees to which this matter was referred.
What we have here is a small piece of legislation, namely the implementation of Special Recommendation VII, defining the information that should accompany money transfers. Precisely because it is a small piece of legislation, though highly political and with the potential to intrude extensively into people’s private and business affairs, this Parliament has wisely and rightly decided to ask in earnest what needs regulation, what is worth regulating and what constitutes an appropriate response. We did not simply bow to the fact that there was already a prior understanding between the Commission and the Council. Both committees did their best to find proper answers.
This applies to the question of the threshold for incoming funds, which will remain traceable, while the threshold will prevent legal over-reaction against the participating banks on the issue of possible international threshold values.
It also applies to anonymous donations, which are made in several countries, such as Austria, the country of the outgoing Council presidency. They are not to be prohibited if a Member State wants to keep that option open. A threshold of EUR 500 has, however, been set, and larger anonymous donations are only permissible if they are made to absolutely
organisations.
The same applies, moreover, to the technical matter of an intermediary bank involved in the transfer of funds. Here too, we have come up with sound solutions. In Member States where complete information cannot be transmitted for technical reasons, it will still be possible, acting jointly and with the consent of the bank of final destination, to hold intermediary banks accountable too.
Last but not least, it also applies to the question of outgoing payments from the European Union. We did not make the mistake of creating too much red tape or imposing too many requirements; on the contrary, we made a conscious distinction between payments with the risk of a terrorist link and payments that might simply be made by migrant workers who have not the slightest connection with terrorism. This distinction was important, because we support the Commission in its desire to extend the licensing system to the more informal providers of payment services that operate in grey areas and thus to bring them to the surface in order to obtain as much knowledge as possible, thereby avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and ensuring that no undue restriction of civil rights occurs.
On behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, I thank the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs of the political groups for their excellent cooperation. I believe the remaining problems can be resolved by the time of Thursday’s vote, because the committee procedure, on which we were still at odds with the Council, actually relates to only a small section of the draft, namely the matter of an
committee to which associated territories have to be admitted. It does not concern the sensitive issue of thresholds or politically sensitive provisions.
Allow me to make one more point. We are creating transparent legislation that is clearly understood by the people of Europe, reliable legal provisions, not unilateral declarations by individual states in this world that seek to induce private companies – even international organisations with cooperative property rights – to do things that may or may not be compatible with national law. We are asking the same questions as the Belgian Government, and we will assist them in their search for answers to these questions, because those answers must be found.
For this very reason we should continue to legislate and build the foundations for international agreements on the basis of the rule of law and not give way to the law of the jungle. Together with the rapporteur, we shall find suitable ways to pursue that approach."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples