The European Parliament has added Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago to the European Commission's blacklist of non-EU countries seen as having "strategic" deficiencies in anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regimes after a motion to reject their inclusion fell short of the 376-vote absolute majority.
Only 357 members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, voted in support of the motion not to include the three countries in the list of "high-risk third countries" that the Commission is obliged to draw up in accordance with the EU's Anti-money Laundering Directive. Two hundred and eighty-three voted against the motion and 26 abstained, the Parliament said in a statement.
Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed proposed replacing central bank Governor Chedli Ayari, who has faced media allegations of turning a blind eye to "obscure transfers" from nongovernmental organizations and political parties. Chahed's move came hours after Tunisia's inclusion on the list was announced, according to an Associated Press report in The New York Times.
Chahed has recommended Marouane El Abassi, who is the representative of Tunisia and Libya to the World Bank, as Ayari's replacement.
In December 2017, the Commission decided to include Tunisia and the other two states on its blacklist following the lead of the international Financial Action Task Force. But the Commission and the Parliament, which has veto power over the blacklist, have clashed on how it was compiled.
MEPs who supported the motion not to include Tunisia "believe the addition of the North African country is undeserved; that it is a burgeoning democracy in need of support and that the listing fails to recognize the recent steps it has taken to strengthen its financial system against criminal activity," the Parliament said in its statement. "The other two countries were included in the same delegated act."
The two bodies have already agreed on a new methodology for adding and removing countries, which will be introduced from the end of 2018.
Some MEPs have requested that Tunisia be delisted immediately, but Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourová declined those requests on Feb. 5. She was quoted as saying in a statement to Parliament that the Commission would reassess Tunisia's progress "as early as possible" in 2018. "However, we are not there yet," she added.
