Witwassen van geld - regelgeving interne markt: Procedure gestart tegen Griekenland en Zweden wegens niet-invoering EU-richtlijnen (en)

The European Commission has decided to take Greece to the European Court of Justice for failure to transpose into national legislation the second Directive on money laundering, adopted in 2001, as well as two 2002 Directives on solvency margins for life assurance and non-life insurance undertakings. In addition, the Commission has asked Greece to lift the requirement which Greek law imposes on insurance companies wishing to offer motor insurance cover to belong to the Greek association of insurance companies. The Commission has also made a formal request to Sweden to complete the transposition into national law of Directive 2001/19/EC on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The Commission requests take the form of reasoned opinions, which are the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply from the national authorities within two months, the Commission may decide to take the Member States in question to the Court of Justice.

The Member of the Commission responsible for the internal market, Mr Frits Bolkestein, declared: "It is all very well that the Member States approve legislative texts at EU level. But they are empty promises if they then do not keep their commitments and do not transpose these European laws into national law according to the timetable which they agreed upon. Every failure to transpose makes it more difficult for citizens and firms throughout Europe to benefit fully from the new opportunities which the measures in question seek to introduce into the internal market."

Greece: second Directive to combat money laundering

The second Directive on money laundering was adopted on 4 December 2001 (see IP/01/1608). The Member States agreed at that time that it should be transposed into national law by 15 June 2003 at the latest. Greece has still not notified the Commission of any measures transposing the Directive into national law, even though it was sent a reasoned opinion in February 2004 (IP/04/180). The other Member States concerned by this reasoned opinion have either given notification of the transposition of the Directive or kept the Commission informed of their progress. Greece has neither given the Commission any progress report on transposition nor submitted a timetable for the adoption of the necessary measures. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the matter to the Court of Justice.

The Directive in question extends the scope of the first Directive on money laundering (91/308/EEC).

In particular, it requires the Member States to combat money laundering involving a wide range of serious offences and extends the coverage of the first Directive (limited to the financial sector) to a whole series of non-financial activities and professions exposed to the risk of money laundering. This means that the requirements with regard to identifying clients, preserving documents and reporting suspicious transactions now also apply to independent accountants and auditors, real estate agents, notaries and lawyers. Some dealers in high-value goods, such as precious stones or metals and works of art, and auctioneers are also subject to similar requirements whenever payment is made in cash and involves an amount of at least 15 000 euros.

As long as there is even only one Member State which has not transposed the Directive, there will be a chink in the European Union's defence against the use of the financial system for money laundering, especially by those involved in terrorism and organised crime.

Greece: solvency margin of insurance companies

The Commission has also decided to take Greece to the Court of Justice for failing to transpose Directives 2002/12/EC and 2002/13/EC (see IP/01/216) on solvency margins for life assurance and non-life insurance undertakings. These Directives were supposed to have been transposed by 20 September 2003 at the latest.

The single market in insurance rests primarily on the mutual recognition of the value of the financial supervision of insurance undertakings as practised in the various Member States. This mutual recognition is a sine qua non for the "European passport" which permits insurers to do business throughout the EU while being subject to monitoring by their home country authorities alone. The financial supervision of insurance undertakings is justified by the concern to protect policyholders and promote stable financial markets.

The solvency margin is one of the measures harmonised for that purpose by the insurance Directives. It consists of all the equity capital and other similar elements which an insurance undertaking must have at its disposal in order to deal with the eventuality of having to bear unexpected costs connected mainly with claims, investments or the general running of the undertaking. The solvency margin must not be lower than a minimum amount demanded of undertakings depending on the volume of risks they underwrite, with an absolute floor, the minimum guarantee fund, also being laid down.

The Community solvency margin mechanism dates from the 1970s. These two Directives represent a series of measures (solvency) which considerably improves the existing scheme and significantly strengthens the protection provided for policyholders.

Greece: compulsory membership of a national association of insurance companies

The Commission has sent Greece a reasoned opinion because that country imposes on companies providing third-party motor insurance the requirement (which does not appear in the non-life insurance Directives) of belonging to the Greek association of insurance companies.

The Commission considers that as a result of this requirement there may be a risk of preventing or discouraging insurance companies from other Member States from entering the Greek market, and thus a risk of restricting competition on prices and on the access of policyholders to a wider selection of companies. Policyholders in Greece thus run the risk of having to pay more for their motor insurance policies.

The Commission feels that the violating measure, which provides for the involvement of a body comprising competing companies already operating in the country, represents a hindrance to the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services. Also, for foreign companies these measures would have the effect of preventing the freedom to market insurance products: an insurer from another Member State wishing to be established or to provide services in Greece has no freedom of choice on whether or not to become a member of the Greek association of insurers. Consequently, this rule encroaches on the sole powers of the Member State of origin.

Lastly, with regard to insurance undertakings whose registered office is located in Greece and who are therefore subject to monitoring by the relevant Greek authorities, this requirement is also a hindrance to the proper operation of the internal market in insurance and incompatible with the Community Directives on the matter. The fact is that there is nothing in the Community Directives to indicate that such a requirement is necessary in order to obtain the single authorisation which is essential to exercise the activity of motor insurance in the EU.

Sweden: general system for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications

The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to Sweden, which has not communicated all the measures for transposing Directive 2001/19/EC on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

This Directive is part of the SLIM initiative intended to simplify legislation for the internal market. It modifies 14 previous Directives referring inter alia to general care nurses, dentists, veterinary surgeons, midwives, pharmacists, doctors and architects. It requires the Member States to take account of professional experience acquired in other Member States. It also considerably facilitates the updating of lists of diplomas, certificates and titles eligible for automatic recognition.

The deadline for transposing Directive 2001/19 / EC expired on 1 January 2003. As long as it is not applied, the professionals involved run the risk of enduring needlessly bureaucratic and slow procedures before being able to exercise their right to work anywhere in the European Union, and the potential users of the services of these professionals may be deprived of the opportunity to benefit from their expertise.

Recent information on infringement proceedings concerning all the Member States is available on the following website:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm