19 June 2023
The EU Regulation on crypto-assets: isnt’it a bit late?
The Regulation n. 2023/1113 has now been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
It aims at providing a clear legal framework for the development of the crypto assets and the safe transfer of funds within the EU.
As a matter of fact, flows of illicit money through transfers of funds and virtual assets can damage the integrity, stability and reputation of the financial sector, and threaten the internal market of the Union as well as international development.
Money laundering, terrorist financing and organised crime remain significant problems which should be addressed at Union level.
The soundness, integrity and stability of the system of transfers of funds and virtual assets, and confidence in the financial system as a whole, could be seriously jeopardised by the efforts of criminals and their associates to disguise the origin of criminal proceeds or to transfer funds or virtual assets for criminal activities or terrorist purposes.
Their global reach, the speed at which transactions can be carried out and the possible anonymity offered by their transfer make virtual assets particularly susceptible to criminal misuse, including in cross-border situations.
In order to effectively address the risks posed by the misuse of virtual assets for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes, the Union should promote the application at global level of the standards implemented by this Regulation and the development of the international and cross-jurisdictional dimension of the regulatory and supervisory framework for transfers of virtual assets in relation to money laundering and terrorist financing.
In order to facilitate their criminal activities, money launderers and financers of terrorism are likely to take advantage of the freedom of capital movements within the Union’s integrated financial area unless certain coordinating measures are adopted at Union level.
The traceability of transfers of funds and crypto-assets can be a particularly important and valuable tool in the prevention, detection and investigation of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as in the implementation of restrictive measures, in particular those imposed by Regulations (EC) No 2580/2001, (EC) No 881/2002 and (EU) No 356/2010.
It is therefore appropriate, in order to ensure the transmission of information throughout the payment chain or the transfer of crypto-assets chain, to provide for a system imposing the obligation on payment service providers to accompany transfers of funds with information on the payer and the payee and the obligation on crypto-asset service providers to accompany transfers of crypto-assets with information on the originator and the beneficiary.
Certain transfers of crypto-assets entail specific high-risk factors for money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal activities, in particular transfers related to products, transactions or technologies designed to enhance anonymity, including privacy wallets, mixers or tumblers.
12 June 2023
The new EU Regulation to prevent deforestation: new duties for wood importers and dealers?
In the Official Journal of the European Union of June 9 2023 the Regulation n. 2023/1115 has been published.
The Regulation aims at preventing illegal deforestation and forest degradation, but it imposes duties on importers and dealers.
To strengthen the Union’s contribution to halting deforestation and forest degradation, and to ensure that relevant products from supply chains related to deforestation and forest degradation are not placed on the market or exported, relevant products should not be placed or made available on the market or exported unless they are deforestation-free and have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production.
To confirm that this is the case, they should always be accompanied by a due diligence statement.
EU operators should take the appropriate steps in order to ensure that the relevant products that they intend to place on the market comply with the deforestation-free and legality requirements of this Regulation.
To that end, operators should establish and implement due diligence systems.
7 March 2019
Judicial cooperation and Brexit: the EU Commission’s notice
As time passes without any sort of Agreement between the EU and UK, it is necessary to start thinking what will be the scenario in place one the withdrawal will take effect (March 29th 2019).
28 January 2019
European Integration keeps going…at least between France and Germany – the new cooperation Treaty
In a difficult scenario in which the EU and its Member States are debating, France and Germany send a clear signal to the other members and strengthen bilateral cooperation, which is already particularly close under the 1963 Elyseo Treaty.
7 January 2019
International contracts and the jurisdiction in the EU area – a seminar in Maribor (SLO)
I am very greateful to the Faculty of Law of the University of Maribor (SLO) for having invited me for a seminar on International contracts and the jurisdiction in the EU area.
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