Title: Informal Ecofin: Ecofin statement on actions to combat the financing of terrorism

Category: Press Releases by the Belgian EU Presidency

Description: The Ecofin Ministers, the President of the European Central Bank and the Commission are committed to taking rapid and coordinated initiatives to combat the financing of terrorism.

They intend in particular to :

- secure a rapid adoption of the draft directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering as well as of the framework-decision on the execution in the EU of orders freezing assets or evidence, the scope of which should be extended to terrorist-related crimes;

- pay particular attention to activities linked to terrorism in the framework of the draft directive on insider trading presently under consideration, and formulate proposals to that effect;

- reinforce exchange of information between relevant financial intelligence units in Member States to act pre-emptively against terrorism;

ensure that the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering mandate is broadened so as to cover cases linked to terrorism;

give full backing to the efforts of the FATF in its work on non-cooperative countries and its ambitious project to update the 40 Recommendations on important issues such as customer identification;

- adopt a proactive and coordinated attitude on these matters in international fora such as the Basle Committee of banking supervisors, EU Banking Supervisory Committee , EU Banking Advisory Committee, the Financial Stability Forum, the OECD, the IMF , the World Bank and the regional development banks;

- ask for the EU future Members to be in line with the EU standards in these areas;

- secure prompt ratification and implementation of UN resolution 1333 ;

- ratify and implement the UN Resolution on the international convention on the suppression of the financing of terrorism;

- sign and ratify the UN Convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism.

A first discussion on these points will take place tomorrow morning, with the EU Central Bank

Governors , at the informal Ecofin meeting.

A first report on these initiatives will be submitted to the joint JHA/ECOFIN Council of 16 october 2001.

Date: 24/09/2001