Assessing the effectiveness of the EU AML regime: Detecting and investigating cases of trafficking in human beings

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-485
Author(s):  
Þorbjörg Sveinsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Control Regulation ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
The Eu

The effectiveness of anti-money-laundering (AML) mechanisms within the European Union (EU), in the context of the detection and investigation of trafficking in human beings (THB), is the focal point of this article. The article begins by examining the EU’s emphasis on proactive financial investigations in cases of THB and then moves on to examine EU AML framework. Special attention is paid to the 4th AML Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/849), the Second Transfer of Funds Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/847), the Second Payment Services Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/2366) and the Cash Control Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1889/2005). The modus operandi of traffickers operating within the EU when laundering the proceeds of their crimes is then studied, with the view of assessing the effectiveness of the framework. The analysis shows that the EU AML framework fails to capture some common modes of money laundering (ML) in THB cases and in addition, it is less effective when the criminal proceeds are laundered within the EU. The analysis furthermore shows that the EU AML regime is largely dependent on the ML risk assessment of private actors, many who do not comply with their AML obligations and are widely insufficiently monitored within the Member States (MS). The article concludes that the limitations of the EU AML framework and it’s enforcement in the MS have resulted in difficulties both in detecting ML associated with THB and in gathering evidence during THB investigations.

scholarly journals ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING POLICY OF THE EU

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (86) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iryna Klymchuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Member States ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
Institutional Mechanism ◽  
The Eu

After the mid-1990s, the EU realized the need to develop a common approach to combating human trafficking. As a result of the increased competence of the relevant EU institutions, as well as the increase of stakeholders’ concerns about its internal security and control of external borders began to grow, which gave push to the unprecedented formation, expansion and consolidation of anti-trafficking policy. Accordingly, a number of legislative and policy instruments have been created for this purpose. Important EU anti-trafficking program activities include the EMPACT program (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) (2011-2013) and (2013-2017), which consisted of the joint participation of Member States in multidisciplinary operational actions to combat organized crime involved in trafficking in human beings. Also in 2009, the EU developed the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility, as well as a separate document focused on strengthening the EU’s external influence against human trafficking. A more recent EU migration program in 2015 provided Member States with a comprehensive set of tools to manage migration and combat trafficking in human beings. Important tools in the fight against trafficking in human beings in the EU include Directive 2004/81/EU, which regulates the granting of temporary residence permits to third-country nationals who have been trafficked; Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims; Directive 2012/29/EU, which set additional minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of trafficking victims. In 2012 a joint EU strategy to eradicate trafficking-related crimes was launched for 2012-2016. An appropriate information platform has also been set up, which contains information on legal documents, initiatives, or possible projects and stakeholders dealing with human trafficking. In addition, a funding program has been established to promote quantitative and qualitative research projects, enhance the exchange of valuable knowledge and improve the quality of data collection. We came to the conclusion that institutional mechanism of the European Union in combating with trafficking in human beings is a system of EU bodies that adopt relevant regulations. This institutional mechanism has a rather complex structure, based on the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Commission, the European Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, the EU Expert Group on Trafficking of Human Beings, Europol, Eurojust, the European Judicial Network. The main component of this structure is the European Commission, which makes decisions and takes initiatives in this area. A characteristic feature of the EU’s anti-trafficking policy is not only to ensure respect for human rights of victims of this crime, but also to create appropriate conditions for its rehabilitation, further socialization and prosecution of perpetrators. In sum, the EU treats human trafficking as one of the global problems of our days and is making considerable efforts to combat it.

scholarly journals Societal and Economic Elements of Trafficking in Human Beings into the European Union

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 831-852
Author(s):  
Alfred Wong ◽  
Roxanne Gomes
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Trafficking In Persons ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Transnational Organized Crime ◽  
The Past ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is an early signatory of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. During the past decade, the EU has been undertaking various measures to conform to the "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons". The mitigating strategy has been largely based on the enforcement of existing and new laws, inside as well as outside of the EU. To date, the results have been largely ineffective. Addressing the societal and economic elements of home and host countries could be a more enduring means to alleviate the problem of trafficking in human beings.

Integracja w dezintegracji i dezintegracja w integracji: determinanty mechanizmów integracyjnych w Unii Europejskiej

2018 ◽  
pp. 10-37
Author(s):  
Barbara Curyło
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Integration Mechanisms ◽  
Strategic Issue ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

In the discussion on the future of the EU, the topic of differentiated integration has become a strategic issue, with different variants beginning to appear as modus operandi of the European Union, which has become a subject of controversy among Member States. Significantly, the debate on differentiated integration began to be accompanied by reflections on disintegration. This article attempts to define disintegration on the assumption that it should be defined through the prism of integration, and that such a defining process can not be limited to concluding a one-way contrast between disintegration versus integration and vice versa. This is due to the assumption that the European Union is a dichotomous construct in which integration and disintegration mutually exclude and complement each other. This dichotomy is most evident in the definition of integration and disintegration through the prism of Europeanisation top-down and bottom-up processes that generate, reveal, visualize, stimulate integration mechanisms what allows to diagnose their determinants.

scholarly journals National Food Safety Systems in the European Union: A Comparative Survey

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hadjigeorgiou ◽  
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ◽  
Anastasios Philalithis ◽  
Anna Psaroulaki ◽  
Yiannis Tselentis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Comparative Survey ◽  
Safety Systems ◽  
Central Level ◽  
The Eu

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.

scholarly journals An analysis of characteristics of post-authorisation studies registered on the ENCePP EU PAS Register

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Carroll ◽  
Sreeram V. Ramagopalan ◽  
Javier Cid-Ruzafa ◽  
Dimitra Lambrelli ◽  
Laura McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Drug Utilisation ◽  
Data Capture ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Therapeutic Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
The Eu

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the study design characteristics of Post-Authorisation Studies (PAS) requested by the European Medicines Agency which were recorded on the European Union (EU) PAS Register held by the European Network of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance (ENCePP). Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of all studies registered on the EU PAS Register as of 18th October 2016. Results: We identified a total of 314 studies on the EU PAS Register, including 81 (26%) finalised, 160 (51%) ongoing and 73 (23%) planned. Of those studies identified, 205 (65%) included risk assessment in their scope, 133 (42%) included drug utilisation and 94 (30%) included effectiveness evaluation. Just over half of the studies (175; 56%) used primary data capture, 135 (43%) used secondary data and 4 (1%) used a hybrid design combining both approaches. Risk assessment and effectiveness studies were more likely to use primary data capture (60% and 85% respectively as compared to 39% and 14% respectively for secondary). The converse was true for drug utilisation studies where 59% were secondary vs. 39% for primary. For type 2 diabetes mellitus, database studies were more commonly used (80% vs 3% chart review, 3% hybrid and 13% primary data capture study designs) whereas for studies in oncology, primary data capture were more likely to be used (85% vs 4% chart review, and 11% database study designs). Conclusions: Results of this analysis show that study objectives and therapeutic area influence PAS design in terms of type of data capture used.

Crisis and European Union: Political Aspects

2012 ◽  
pp. 33-42
Author(s):  
N. Arbatova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Systemic Crisis ◽  
World Economic ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Economic And Financial Crisis

The focal point of the article is the future of the European Union that has been challenged by the deepest systemic crisis in its history. The world economic and financial crisis became merely a catalyst for those problems that had existed earlier and had not been addressed properly by the EU leadership. The author argues that the EU crisis can be overcome only by new common efforts of its member-states and new integrationist projects.

11. Financial crime

2019 ◽  
pp. 420-451
Author(s):  
Jeremy Horder
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Corporate Activity ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines three major examples of financial crime: fraud, bribery, and money laundering. The importance of financial crime, and of vigorous prosecution policies in relation to it, should not be underestimated. Fraud accounts for no less than one third of all crimes captured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The European Union Parliament has estimated that corruption costs the EU between €179 and €990 billion each year. Finally, the Home Office estimates that the impact of money laundering on the UK economy is likely to exceed £90 billion. An understanding of these crimes, and in particular the way that they reflect corporate activity, is nowadays essential to the study of criminal law.

scholarly journals THE MOLDOVAN BANK FRAUD (2012-2015). A process tracing analysis of the Moldovan $1 billion money laundering

2020 ◽  
pp. 96-107
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Banking System ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

In the 2012-2015 period, $1 billion have been stolen from three Moldovan banks, which is the equivalent of 12% of the country’s GDP. The highly fraudulent environment in the RM allowed for the successful application of fraudulent schemes for three years, without it being seized and frozen. This paper seeks to decipher the schemes that were applied as well as argue how the integration into the European Union would have lowered the corruption and thereby prevent the fraud from happening. Even though several scholars discussed the bank fraud and how it affected the relationship between Moldova and the EU, they do not address how the steps of integration into the European Union could gradually regulate the level of corruption in the RM and subsequently eliminate the possible methods of committing the bank fraud. Through a comparative analysis of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, I aim to demonstrate that the difference between the level of corruption and the stability of the banking system in these two countries is due to EU membership. Further, through secondary analysis of qualitative data, and semi-constructed interviews, I conclude that, in theory, my argument holds – the instruments the EU applies on the candidate countries would not have allowed the fraudulent schemes to be put into action. However, the EU failed to apply the conditionality concept on Romania and thus, it is possible that the money laundering in the RM could have happened even if it had been a member of the EU.

scholarly journals Germany and the European Union After the Epoch of Chancellor Angela Merkel

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
V. Vasil'ev
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
World Order ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Eu

The article is devoted to the analysis of the political legacy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in what way the new German government might possibly use it dealing with the transformation of the country and modernization of the European Union. The new political coalition with possible participation of the Green Party will preserve the continuity of the German foreign policy course for strengthening the European Union, deepening the transatlantic partnership, for active cooperation between Berlin and Paris, as well as for inclusion of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic area. The European sovereignty is the main focal point in Berlin. The Conference on the Future of Europe examines it, as well as other evolution issues. The updated legal framework of the EU, feasible strengthening of the European Parliament positions could help transform the European Union into a weighty actor in the polycentric world. Only powerful, relatively sovereign EU is able to secure the “European way of life”. Judgments about the disintegration of the European Union are far from reality. The EU margin of safety and resistance are quite impressive, primarily due to the economic potential of Germany. However, it is really difficult to predict how the European Union will get out of the crisis caused by Covid 19. American concessions to the Germans on the Nord Stream 2 project mean Biden’s serious attitude towards Merkel and Germany – the leader in the EU and one of the important NATO allies. The conditions for Russia’s return to the “European club”, for example, through the revival of M. Gorbachev’s new political thinking in Moscow, indicate rather an illusory desire. There is another, more pragmatic approach. The single European cultural and historical matrix of Greater Europe, communication between the leaders of the Russian Federation, Germany, France and the USA, the economic foundation of contacts, as well as mutual sympathies between Russians, Germans, Europeans give reason to hope for a turn for the better. The chances of a unification agenda remain. Perhaps, it will be used by future generations of politicians, experts of the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany without preconditions, on the basis of reasonable compromises. Acknowledgements. The article was prepared within the project “Post-Crisis World Order: Challenges and Technologies, Competition and Cooperation” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement 075-15-2020-783).

Regulating Medical Devices in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Mahalatchimy
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
European Regulatory ◽  
Notified Body ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Intended Use ◽  
The Eu

This chapter addresses the regulation of medical devices in the European Union. The overall goals of the European regulatory framework for medical devices are the same as the goals of the framework for medicines. It aims to protect public health by ensuring that medical devices are of good quality and safe for their intended use. However, the regulation of medical devices in Europe is very different from the regulation of medicines in two regards. First, unlike medicines, there is no pre-market authorisation by a regulatory authority for medical devices to lawfully enter the EU market. Second, unlike in the United States where the Food and Drug Administration is the primary regulator of devices throughout the nation, the European Union does not have a single regulator of medical devices. Instead, several organisations may be involved, and mainly a notified body in specific cases. The chapter then explains what constitutes a medical device in the EU and how devices are classified according to their level of risk in the EU. It then discusses how medical devices reach the market, how their risks are managed all along their lifecycle, and what kinds of incentives are provided for innovation and competition. The chapter also analyses the balance between public and private actors in the regulation of medical devices. It then concludes with case studies of innovative medical technologies that have challenged the traditional European regulatory scheme and that have led to many revisions in the 2017 device regulations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document