Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-03-Speech-1-101"
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"en.20060703.16.1-101"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to start by thanking Mr Alvaro, rapporteur for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and Mr Bullmann, draftsman for the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, for their outstanding efforts and readiness to reach an agreement on this technical and complex file.
I am also happy to note that we have been successful in reaching agreement on technical issues, such as the use of systems with technical limitations by intermediaries receiving funds from outside the EU.
Now that an overall agreement on comitology has been reached between Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the adoption of this regulation is an excellent opportunity to put into practice that agreement. I am therefore appealing to the Members of this House not to insist on the inclusion of specific sunset clauses on the Commission’s regulatory powers under this regulation.
All in all I think this proposal is ripe for adoption in a single reading and I hope it will receive support from all of you.
This regulation provides us with means to combat terrorist financing in a consistent manner throughout the European Union. I look forward to hearing your comments.
The proposal for a regulation on payer information accompanying the transfer of funds is an important step towards our aim of cutting off terrorist funding. It shows the EU’s determination to participate fully in the international efforts to combat terrorism.
Nobody can deny that combating terrorism is a key political priority worldwide today. At European level, the commitment to combat all forms of terrorism is clear. The EU plan of action on combating terrorism defines as a priority close cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force and the adaptation of the EU legislative framework to the nine special recommendations on terrorist financing adopted by this body.
The proposed regulation transposes into EU law Special Recommendation VII of the Financial Action Task Force. This recommendation requires that money transfers be accompanied by the identity of the sender with name, address and account number.
This regulation will facilitate the traceability of money transfers through a number of obligations. These obligations apply to payment service providers, mainly banks, but also money remitters. They will be obliged to send information on the payer throughout the payment chain and keep the corresponding records. This information shall be available to the national authorities in order to assist them in their tasks. It will help combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
The agreed deadline for the implementation of this special recommendation is 1 January 2007. Non-coordinated action by Member States alone in the field of cross-border transfers of funds could have a significant negative impact on the smooth functioning of payment services at EU level. It would also damage the internal market in the field of financial services: hence the importance of respecting the deadline.
Parliament, the Council and the Commission have worked hard during the last year to reach an agreement on the text. We all have done our best to find solutions to complex issues and I believe that we have been successful in doing so.
One of the main topics of discussion in our negotiations has been the issue of the EUR 1000 threshold, below which receiving banks in the EU would not be obliged to reject a transfer or to ask the sending bank to complete the information on the payer. The Commission is pleased that this option has finally not been retained. This idea has also been rejected by all Member States in the Council. Terrorists can be financed by a series of small payments below the threshold. I consider this a valid concern if we want to tackle terrorism effectively.
A solution has also been found with respect to the obligation of the receiving banks to stop dealings with foreign banks not sending the appropriate information, and on the obligation to send back low-value payments. I have noted Parliament’s concerns on these points. The circumstances under which these obligations apply have been restricted considerably, making them a solution of last resort."@en1
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