The EPP Group in the European Parliament criticises the "foot-dragging" of many countries when implementing existing international standards against money-laundering.

"Many countries have failed to effectively implement existing anti-money laundering rules. Before we call for new measures, the focus must be first on the effective implementation of the existing standards", said Dariusz Rosati MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament's Inquiry Committee on Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion.

Today's meeting of the Inquiry Committee “showed first of all the need for more transparency and international cooperation”, Rosati said after the meeting with experts from the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Committee on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) and of the European Banking Authority (EBA).

The process to agree on a blacklist must be speeded up.

Dariusz Rosati MEP

Rosati supports more pressure on countries who fail to implement international standards. “The European Commission set up a road map to create a ‘blacklist’ of tax havens and non-cooperative countries. The process to agree on such a list must be speeded up”, he said.