EU-commerce, terrorism and drugs

The EU-US Workshop on Terrorist Financing was held under the Hungarian Presidency in Budapest on June 6-7, 2011. The Workshop was opened by Roland Nátrán, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry for National Economy of Hungary and US Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis. Both the US Ambassador and the Deputy State Secretary emphasized the importance of EU-US cooperation in counteracting terrorism financing and highlighted the useful tradition of the annual EU-US Workshops.

The Workshop was divided into three sessions dealing with issues which are high on the agenda in the last years and were partly also discussed in previous Seminars. The Sessions were moderated by acknowledged experts from Hungary the U.S. and the European Commission. The Hunters' Room of the Hungarian Parliament Building which gave place for the event offered an additional special atmosphere to the Workshop.

The first Session was devoted to Sanctions compliance – new challenges and best practices including not only the officials and government representatives but also private sector expert. The common discussion showed how useful and important the interaction between public and private sector is and that only common efforts will bring further and help to effectively counteract terrorism financing. Presentations and debate focused among other things on the existing challenges concerning the implementation of the sanctions, the use of risk based approach, the link between anti money laundering and terrorist financing and guidance for the private sector.

The second Session on Non-banking services – new payment methods presented international and some domestic initiatives, helping with the answer and solutions, regarding the new risks in this area. The Session was closed with a lively debate on how existing vulnerabilities can be best addressed without influencing the healthy growth of the sector.

The third Session dealt with the Implementation of FATF Special Recommendation VII on Wire Transfers. This session and the case studies presented by the speakers highlighted the very difficult and technical nature of the subject and gave some real insights in the process of the revision of FATF SR VII.

(Ministry for National Economy)