Malta’s Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has expressed disappointment at what he described as the “unfair” treatment meted out against Malta by European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova. The Finance Minister took umbrage at the fact that Jourova spoke to the Financial Times on matters she did not even raise during two face-to-face meetings, MaltaToday reports.
FT Commentator Mehreen Khan said that with recent revelations at Danske Bank and ING, the commission is eyeing Malta as a possible guinea pig for fixing dangerous gaps in how national authorities monitor flows of dodgy money into Europe’s banks.
On Tuesday the European Commission was reported that it has until November 12 to issue its binding opinion on what Maltese authorities have to do — the first time Brussels has ever taken such a step.
“The situation obliges us to come with an opinion,” Jourova told the FT. The Czech commissioner spent Tuesday morning briefing finance ministers on plans to boost the headcount and resources of the EBA to prevent further lapses. Brussels also wants the EBA to bypass uncooperative national regulators and directly order banks to take action on their money-laundering measures under the changes.
