EU’s Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) considered on 10 October (1) further harmonisation of the EU Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime by upgrading the present AML directives to a regulation, an EU law instrument which is directly enforceable in all EU Members states without further implementing acts at state level. The ministers also discussed concentrating the AML supervisory activities in a single pan-European body.
On behalf of Finland’s Presidency of the EU, Mika Lintilä, Minister for finance said: “Effectively tackling corruption, trafficking, tax evasion or terrorism means effectively tackling the illegal money flows that finance these activities. As crime becomes increasingly cross-border, the EU needs to adapt its regulatory framework to ensure the security of its citizens and the integrity of its financial system.”
Further questions (2) concerning the scope of EU’s AML regime will be considered in due course, with conclusions expected to be adopted at the Council meeting on 5 December.

(1) Ecofin 2019/10/10/
(2) Document Consell d’Europa