The same day that Bulgaria approved amendments to a law requiring accountants and enforcement agents to report to the State Agency for National Security any attempts at or conduct of an operation or transaction suspicious of terrorist financing, the European Commission unveiled its proposals for a European Terrorist Finance Tracking System (TFTS).
The proposals, the Commission said, represented an initial response to the request to prepare a legal and technical framework for establishing such a system within the European Union.
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, said: "Following the conclusion of the EU-US TFTP Agreement the European Parliament and the Council have asked the Commission to find a European solution for extracting the requested data on European soil.
"Today's Communication describes the different possible options and seeks to trigger a debate about possible future proposals. Given that these future proposals would need to fully respect fundamental rights, and in particular ensure a high level of data protection, I intend to pay close attention to the necessity and proportionality of any possible measures which may be proposed".
A European TFTS should have two main objectives, the Commission said.
First, the system must contribute to limiting the amount of personal data transferred to the United States. Second, it should contribute significantly to efforts to cut off terrorists' access to funding and materials and follow their transactions.
The Communication gives clear indications about the key issues which need to be decided upon before such a system can be established, the Commission said.
These include the need to fully respect the fundamental rights of European citizens, data protection and data security issues, the operational scope of the system, as well as costs.
"Today's communication presents the different options under consideration at this stage without indicating any preferred one," the Commission said.
The European Commission will now discuss these options in detail with the European Council and the European Parliament before deciding on further steps on the basis of a thorough impact assessment.
In Bulgaria, amendments to the Measures against Terrorist Financing Act, approved conclusively on July 13, require accountants and enforcement agents to report to the State Agency for National Security (SANS) any attempts at or conduct of an operation or transaction suspected of being terrorist financing.
Assets suspected of being connected to or used for terrorist acts or by terrorist organisations and terrorists must also be reported to the SANS Financial Intelligence Agency, news agency BTA said.
Source: The Sofia Echo
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