Members of the European Parliament remain at odds with the European Commission over the EU’s updated list of third-country jurisdictions deemed insufficient in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, citing concerns about delisting countries accused of facilitating sanctions circumvention.:
MEPs and the European Commission remain divided over the EU’s blacklist of third-country jurisdictions considered to have inadequate anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) regimes. The EU’s list has not matched that of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the global AML watchdog—for more than a year and a half, a situation that Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque described as causing “significant irritants with international partners.”
“If we are perceived as not respecting the outcomes of the process, this risks undermining our ability in the future to influence technical assessments and secure the commitments we would like to see from other jurisdictions,” Albuquerque told the European Parliament’s committee on Monday.
The Commission’s most recent update added Algeria, Angola, Kenya, Monaco, and Venezuela to the list, while removing Barbados, Gibraltar, Panama, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the list cannot take effect without review and approval from both the European Parliament and the Council—and MEPs are not yet on board.
In an April 2024 resolution, MEPs opposed removing Gibraltar, UAE, and Panama from the list, citing evidence that these jurisdictions have failed to address or even actively facilitated the circumvention of sanctions against Russia in response to its war against Ukraine. “Those countries may act as platforms for circumvention of sanctions for Union entities, directly or indirectly, thus undermining the Union’s efforts in stopping the Russian war machine,” the resolution stated.
Addressing the committee, Albuquerque argued that concerns had been addressed and that the delisted jurisdictions had made "tangible progress." Yet, MEPs such as Luděk Niedermayer voiced frustration, saying, “It doesn't seem to me that the possibility to engage in dialogue with the European Parliament was utilized to the extent that corresponds to very strong involvement of the Parliament in this matter.”
Albuquerque warned that the current impasse—where some countries listed by the FATF are not listed by the EU—exposes the bloc’s financial system to vulnerabilities and creates compliance loopholes. She also emphasized that divergent lists increase the compliance burden and costs for EU operators and impact their global competitiveness.
German Socialist MEP Birgit Sippel criticized the Commission for allegedly “copy-pasting” FATF assessments and called for greater transparency in the process. Albuquerque responded that the blacklist was the product of over a year of “intense work,” including not only FATF findings but also bilateral dialogues and on-site visits to the third countries concerned.
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