Voting system to determine the location of the European Union's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority

In a significant development, the European Parliament and national governments have reached an agreement on the voting system to determine the location of the European Union's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).

The chosen mechanism is the "Eurovision" system, where the European Parliament and national governments, represented by the European Council, possess equal voting rights. The final decision on AMLA's seat will be made through a joint voting process during an informal inter-institutional meeting at the political level. This process will involve representatives from both the Parliament and the Council voting simultaneously with an equal number of votes for each co-legislator.

Before the final decision, joint public hearings will be conducted to allow representatives of member states' candidacies to present their applications. The assessment of each application will be based on selection criteria outlined in the call for applications, information provided by candidates, the Commission's assessment, and the outcomes of joint public hearings. The Council and the Parliament expressed their commitment to a transparent, fair, and equitable selection process for all candidates.

This decision follows negotiations that led to a common understanding of the selection process for the future European authority tasked with countering money laundering and terrorist financing. The AMLA will play a central role in the EU's anti-money laundering framework, holding direct and indirect supervisory powers and the ability to impose sanctions and measures.

In a parallel development, the European bloc has agreed on the 12th round of sanctions against Russia. These sanctions include a prohibition on the importation, purchase, or transfer of diamonds from Russia, added export controls and restrictions, and a ban on Russian nationals from holding positions in entities providing crypto-asset services to Russian persons. The Council has also introduced tighter compliance rules to support the implementation of an oil price cap and imposed additional measures on iron and steel imports from Russia.

The AMLA, proposed as part of the EU's legislative package on anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing in July 2021, is set to be the first agency established following the EU Court of Justice's judgments in July 2022. Nine member states, including Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Austria, have submitted applications to host AMLA. The Commission is expected to release its assessment of the candidacies in January 2024, with the subsequent selection process determining the location of AMLA's seat to be included in the regulation. By fLEXI tEAM