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Activities of Helga STEVENS related to 2018/0105(COD)

Shadow reports (1)

2016/11/22
Committee: LIBE
Dossiers: 2018/0105(COD)
Documents: PDF(912 KB) DOC(139 KB)

Amendments (21)

Proposal for a directive
Recital 9

(9) To the extent that tax authorities and anti-corruption agencies are competent for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences under national law, they should also be considered authorities that can be designated for the purposes of this Directive. Administrative investigations should not be covered under the present Directive unless they are conducted by the Financial Intelligence Units in the context of preventing, detecting and effectively combatting money laundering and terrorism financing.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12

(12) Directive (EU) 2015/849 has substantially enhanced the Union legal framework that governs the activity and cooperation of Financial Intelligence Units, the legal status of which varies across Member States from administrative to law enforcement to hybrid ones. The powers of Financial Intelligence Units include the right to access the financial, administrative and law enforcement information that they require to combat money laundering, the associated predicate offences and terrorist financing. Nevertheless, Union law does not lay down all specific tools and mechanisms that Financial Intelligence Units must have at their disposal in order to access such information and accomplish their tasks. Since Member States remain entirely responsible for the setting up and deciding the organisational nature of Financial Intelligence Units, different Financial Intelligence Units have varying degrees of access to regulatory databases which leads to an insufficient exchange of information between law enforcement or prosecution services and Financial Intelligence Units.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12 a (new)

(12a) The provisions of this Directive should not affect the operational independence and autonomy of the Financial Intelligence Units under Directive (EU) 2015/849 and should be in line with that Directive, meaning that the Financial Intelligence Units should continue to have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and disseminate specific information.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 15

(15) Sharing information between Financial Intelligence Units and with competent authorities should only be permitted where it is necessary on a case- by-case basis, ~~either~~ for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of serious criminal offences or, for money laundering, the associated predicate offences and terrorist financing.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 18

(18) The ~~use of secure facilities for the exchange of information, in particular the decentralised computer~~secure and decentralised electronic communications network FIU.net (the ‘FIU.net’), which is managed by Europol since 1 January 2016, or its successor and the techniques offered by FIU.net, should be used for exchanges of information between Financial Intelligence Units.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 19

(19) Given the sensitivity of financial data that should be analysed by Financial Intelligence Units and the necessary data protection safeguards, this Directive should specifically set out the type and scope of information that can be exchanged between Financial Intelligence Units and with designated competent authorities. However, Member States should be able to decide to broaden the scope of financial information and bank account information that can be exchanged between the Financial Intelligence Units and designated competent authorities. They may also facilitate access by competent authorities to financial information and bank account information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences other than serious criminal offences. This Directive should not bring any changes to currently agreed methods of data collection.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 20

(20) Under its specific competences and tasks as laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council16 , Europol provides support to Member States’ cross- border investigations into the money laundering activities of transnational criminal organisations. In that context, Europol is obliged to notify the Member States of any information and connections between criminal offences concerning them. According to Regulation (EU) 2016/794, the Europol National Units are the liaison bodies between Europol and the Member States' authorities competent to investigate criminal offences. To provide Europol with the information necessary to carry out its tasks, Member States should provide that their Financial Intelligence Unit replies to duly justified requests for financial information and financial analysis made by Europol through the respective Europol National Unit. The request should only comprise information that is already in the possession of the Financial Intelligence Unit. Member States should also provide that their Europol National Unit replies to requests for information on bank accounts by Europol. ~~Requests made by Europol have to be duly justified.~~ They have to be made on a case-by case basis, within the limits of Europol's responsibilities and for the performance of its tasks. _________________ 16 Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA, OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 25

(25) Personal data obtained under this Directive should only be processed by competent authorities where it is necessary and proportionate for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of serious crime in accordance with Regulation 2016/679.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) the ~~powers of competent authoritie~~existing channels to exchange information between ~~them or~~competent authorities or their powers to obtain information from obliged entities under Union law or the national law of Member States.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

(e) 'financial information' means any type of information or data which is held by Financial Intelligence Units to prevent, detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or any type of information or data which is held by public authorities or by obliged entities for those purposes and which is available to Financial Intelligence Units without the taking of coercive measures under national law;

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g – introductory part

(g) 'bank account information' means the following information on bank and payments accounts and safe deposit boxes contained in the centralised bank account registries:

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point k

(k) 'financial analysis' means the results of operational and strategic analysis carried out by the Financial Intelligence Units for the performance of their tasks pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/849;

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1

1. Each Member State shall designate among its authorities competent for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences the competent authorities empowered to access and search the national centralised bank account registries set up by the Member States in accordance with Article 32a of Directive (EU) 2015/849. They shall at least include the Europol National Units and the Asset Recovery Offices.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2

2. Each Member State shall designate among its authorities competent for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences the competent authorities empowered to request and receive financial information or financial analysis from the Financial Intelligence Unit. They shall at least include the Europol National Units.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2

2. The additional information that Member States may deem essential and include in the centralised bank account registries in accordance with Article 32a(4) of Directive 2018/XX/EU shall not be accessible and searchable by competent authorities ~~according to~~on the basis of this Directive.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Where there are objective grounds for assuming that the provision of such information would clearly have a negative impact on ongoing investigations or analyses, or, in exceptional circumstances, where disclosure of the information would be clearly disproportionate to the legitimate interests of a natural or legal person or clearly irrelevant with regard to the purposes for which it has been requested, the Financial Intelligence Unit shall be under no obligation to comply with the request for information.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Member States shall require competent authorities to provide feedback to the Financial Intelligence Unit on the use made of the information provided in accordance with this Article, and on the outcome of the investigations or inspections performed on the basis of that information, in line with Regulation(EU)2016/794.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Member States shall ensure that the information exchanged pursuant to this Article is used only for the purpose for which it was sought or provided, and that any dissemination of that information by the receiving Financial Intelligence Unit to any other authority, agency or department, or any use of this information for purposes other than those originally approved, is made subject to the prior consent of the Financial Intelligence Unit providing the information.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Member States shall ensure that the Financial Intelligence Unit's prior consent requested under paragraph 4a is granted promptly and to the largest extent possible. The requested Financial Intelligence Unit shall not refuse to grant such consent unless it would clearly fall beyond the scope of application of the provisions of this Directive, could lead to impairment of a criminal investigation, would be clearly disproportionate to the legitimate interests of a natural or legal person or the Member State of the requested Financial Intelligence Unit, or would otherwise clearly not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law of that Member State. Any such refusal to grant consent shall be appropriately explained.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2

2. Each Member State shall ensure that its Financial Intelligence Unit replies to duly justified requests related to financial information and financial analysis made by Europol through the Europol National Unit on a case-by-case basis within the limits of its responsibilities and for the performance of its tasks.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point c

(c) the subject matter of the requests made pursuant to this Directive and their executing measures.

2018/10/29
Committee: LIBE