Frankfurt Chosen as Seat of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority

Nine cities applied to host the authority: Brussels, Frankfurt, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius and Vienna. The candidates presented their applications in joint public hearings in the European Parliament on 30 January 2024. The European Commission welcomed the agreement and noted that it was the first time the co-legislators had jointly agreed on the seat of a decentralised agency, with the Parliament and Council representatives voting together with the same number of votes.

Why the seat decision mattered

The seat was the last open element in the negotiations on the Commission's package of four legislative proposals to strengthen the EU's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework, first tabled on 20 July 2021. The co-legislators agreed the AMLA Regulation in December 2023, and on 18 January 2024 reached political agreement on the single rulebook regulation and the sixth anti-money laundering directive. The provision on AMLA's seat had been left blank in the original proposal.

The new procedure follows judgments of the Court of Justice of 14 July 2022, which clarified that the location of an EU agency's seat is a matter for the EU legislature rather than for the Member States acting alone.

What AMLA will do

AMLA will act as the EU's central enforcer against money laundering and terrorist financing. The Parliament says it will supervise the riskiest financial entities directly and act as a hub for national supervisors. The package as a whole sets a single anti-money laundering rulebook, which will serve as the foundation for coordination between AMLA and national competent authorities.

What happens next

The seat will be written into the AMLA Regulation and formally adopted as part of the text. The Parliament expects to vote on final approval at its plenary session of 22 to 25 April 2024, and the regulation will apply from July 2025. Until the authority becomes operational, the Commission is responsible for establishing it and for its initial operations. Financial institutions with significant cross-border activity should expect to learn in due course whether they will fall under AMLA's direct supervision.

Sources

• European Parliament: Frankfurt will be the home of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority
• European Commission: Commission welcomes the selection of Frankfurt as the seat for AMLA