EU BYTES EU Bytes
Former Executive Director of the European Casino Association and current Managing Director of Time & Place Consulting, Glenn Cezanne provides the latest info on what’s trending and what’s coming down the pipeline in Brussels and around the EU.
B Glenn Cezanne
russels is not the friendliest place in terms of weather during the winter. Maybe one of the reasons why so many consultants exist here. Clients pay fees for extreme weather expeditions to the
EU political stakeholders. Alas, who wants to complain. We did just have the longest summer that I remember. It is quite impressive though to see construction workers from my window plough through their duties whilst the wind is blowing and the rain has decided to defy gravity. It certainly is the time of year for everyone to plough through their last duties before the Christmas holidays, so people are ultra-focused. I do not dare ask my colleagues whether they have bought their Christmas presents. I don’t want to be the only one sighing at the thought of upcoming busy highstreets. Enough of Schadenfreude. Indeed, it is probably
the worst time for it, especially when I look at my colleagues and friends from the UK. Today, a quick look at Brexit and Anti-Money Laundering.
BREXIT
The big decision in the House of Commons is expected on 11th December. Well, the outcome of the vote seems pretty obvious to most. Even though a deal was agreed between the UK government and the EU-27, the hardest battle for Prime Minister Theresa May is the fight in the UK Parliament. There seems to be overwhelming opposition to her deal, even from
her own ranks. Several Ministers have resigned since she presented the proposal to her Cabinet. Furthermore, it is apparently the first time a UK Prime Minister has been held in contempt by Parliament. “How is she still standing?” I hear from several people. Keep Calm and Carry On? Calm? If you ever hear a debate in the House of Commons, please point out the calm elements to me.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING
The European Commission is really on the case with scolding Member States for not transposing their obligations into national law, or at least for “non- communication of transposition measures” regarding the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. 21 out of 28 EU Member States are currently under focus. Mid-November, Luxembourg was added to the list of Romania and Ireland which were referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. Greece is on hold. The others are still at the level of formal communication with the Commission, but it would not be surprising if we see the EU executive branch up the ante there too. By the way, in light of the Panama Papers and terrorist attacks, prompted the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive to enter into force on 9th July 2018. The Member States are obliged to transpose the provisions into national law by 10th January 2020. Let’s see how that pans out.
Greetings from Brussels.
28 DECEMBER 2018
Florence Piot/Adobe Stock
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