Source: European Parliament
The Commission takes a comprehensive approach to protect the EU from financial crime. The anti-money laundering (AML/CFT) Directive[1] includes the obligation to identify third countries posing significant money laundering risks.
The AML package adopted in 2024[2] further strengthen these efforts inter alia by establishing mechanisms to better identify and manage risks from third countries.
The Commission engages in depth with candidate countries on topics related to organised crime, corruption and drug trafficking in the context of the negotiations on accession, which offers a direct and operational framework to engage with Türkiye.
Risks stemming from Türkiye and in the non-government controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus are part of these ongoing discussions with Türkiye.
As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Commission is fully aware of Türkiye’s compliance levels on AML/CFT, including its efforts to address any concerns through tangible actions, and of the risks associated with the non-government controlled areas as highlighted in the evaluation reports concerning Cyprus.
While FATF removed Türkiye from its ‘grey list’ of countries in June 2024, the Commission agrees that close monitoring of the effectiveness of Türkiye’s AML/CFT framework is essential.
In line with the EU methodology for identifying high risk third countries[3], as regards any candidate country, the Commission may consider mitigating measures included in the accession negotiations that address the identified strategic deficiencies.
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2015/849/oj/eng.
- [2] https://finance.ec.europa.eu/news/latest-update-anti-money-laundering-and-countering-financing-terrorism-legislative-package-2024-04-24_en.
- [3] SWD(2020) 99: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/f745b6e8-735b-4855-b050-f52276356fe6_en?filename=200507-anti-money-laundering-terrorism-financing-action-plan-methodology_en.pdf.