The European Parliament (EP) has adopted new rules to fight money laundering. This is the final step in the adoption of the legislation. The EU Council already approved the text as agreed in the negotiations between both institutions. The changes are set to come into force in the second half of 2017.  These new rules are to safeguard the stability of the financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing. Moreover, they will provide authorities with new tools to prevent criminals from legalising illicit proceeds.  Krišjānis Kariņš MEP, Parliament's co-negotiator, said: “Authorities need new means to effectively deal with criminals legalizing illicit proceeds by using the anonymity of offshore companies and accounts. The register of beneficial ownership is a powerful tool which will help in the fight against money laundering and blatant tax evasion.”

Illegally-laundered money accounts for as much as 5% of the world's GDP and is a challenge both for the competitiveness of those working legally in the sector as well as for government coffers. The 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive is aimed at limiting the scope of criminal and terrorist activity in Europe.

Recent data presented by the European Commission shows that every year in the EU approx. 200 000 companies are subject to bankruptcy proceedings, of which 25% have a cross-border dimension. Today the European Parliament gave its green light to new rules on cross-border insolvency proceedings, which will facilitate the restructuring of these companies. Moreover, the rules will allow a clear designation of the competent court, preventing "forum shopping", which means finding the court that could provide a more favorable judgment.

"The financial and economic crises showed us that we need more efficient and effective rules on cross-border insolvency procedures that will not only be fair for both creditors and debtors but also give honest entrepreneurs a chance to restructure companies so they can operate better in the future," said the Rapporteur, Tadeusz Zwiefka MEP, EPP Group spokesperson in the Legal Affairs Committee.  Due to the changes in regulation, a new procedure will be established for groups of companies, which are subject to insolvency proceedings before different national courts. The system will be an optional instrument, meaning that within 30 days of receiving notification of the request to open the coordination proceedings, the liquidator of a company may decide to opt-out if he considers this to be more beneficial for the represented company.  "We wanted to ensure that all possible abuses in the field of jurisdiction are avoided. In this context the result of the negotiations can be seen as reasonable and beneficial for all interested parties," added MEP Zwiefka.  Furthermore, the new rules will create an electronic register for better monitoring of cross-border insolvency proceedings in the EU and also a standard claim form, available in all official EU languages.  The vote ends the EU legislative procedure and the regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The International Monetary Fund has ruled out striking a “quick and dirty” deal with Greece, after European leaders failed to reach an agreement over the country's future at a summit in Riga on Friday.  As Greece’s senior creditor, there have been fears the IMF is ready to pull the plug on another financial aid package unless a “comprehensive” agreement is reached with Athens soon.

Fund chief Christine Lagarde dismissed the prospect of a partial release of bail-out cash that would keep Greece solvent up until the autumn.   “It has to be a comprehensive approach, not a quick and dirty job,” Ms Lagarde told an audience in Rio. “I know there is a lot of work to be done. Parties are now working, receiving proposals, working in cooperation and we will continue to do so as fast as we can.”  Her comments came after Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras met with his French and German counterparts on the sidelines of a European leaders summit in Riga.  EU did do a lot of work and meetings to keep greece in but giving money to a hole to fill it is a big mistake. Greece take money to pay for the debt which is own to the same bank and EU did play enough this bank role...Greece did a lot of work to survive but its state and government has no money but most of the Greeks have their own money taken from their banks which also must be filled by the EU.. If this game play longer than greece will eat the EU states too and still will need more money because euro it is still to strong and it did eat both greece and EU and maybe the rest of the world. Euro was built to destroy not build and unite and improve the EU life and structure. Euro must be half of the dollar to start changing things for good and that may happen after ECB print 10 trillions more....so ECB must continue printing,use Siberia forest,wood...In Riga today the EU gave the Ukraine a loan of 1.5 Billion Euros. The Ukraine wants to know a timeline of when It can expect to join the EU.  There were also draft discussions on the widening of the " Union " to include the other remaining entry candidates of eastern Europe to the EU including Georgia and Moldova.

Junker's misstress = Corina Cretu....hahaha...hihihihi

According a blueprint leaked to Greek media, Jean-Claude Juncker's "plan" to break Greece's deadlock includes a relaxation of Athens' primary budget surplus target to 0.75pc this year - half that previously sought by Greece's paymasters.  The proposals also include releasing €5bn to the government in June, and delaying a number of fiscal austerity measures until October. However, the blueprint maintained that Greece would have to retain a controversial property tax and push for flexible labour market reforms.   Despite refusing to confirm the plan, a spokesman for Mr Juncker said the EU chief was now "personally involved" in Greece's talks...Yep been saying it for months but still there are so many people out there who refuse to accept the horrible reality that the EU WILL become a unified political state with immense power.  Until they are immersed in it and can see the hard evidence right in their faces they won't accept it. They appear to lack the ability to see the warning signs...They will use every tactic possible if our in/out referendum looks like an out vote.  The Greeks know that they have the EU by the short and curlies so these ECB financial contortions are only to be expected...well...Juncker is 100% Merkel's puppet.  Search all the EU or Greek papers. Nothing about this "deal".  Merkel is getting nervous seeing the Tsunami of Target2 approaching in the wake of a Grexit.  Target2 will show the German people what their Government has been doing with their money - in hundreds of billions - under the counter - to silently support the failing EU.  So Juncker is just flying Merkel's kite. There is no money on the table - not a pfennig nor a cent. Juncker is handily "deniable" even on the few occasions he is sober.  Give this 'story' a few days and we shall see what pops up...The Euro would be better of without Greece.  The problem is no key politician in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt etc.  wants  to be blamed to have pushed Greece over the cliff and the Greeks are not aware that they are at the end of the rope. Tsipras is more afraid of his Greek electorate (red lines) and his own party than for the good of his country. There he is in line with all his predecessors. So left or right, Greek politicians are all rotten...or are they ????

The Euro is terminally ill. We are at the stage of chemo and radiation to keep it alive. The medecines will get progressively worse from here and may themselves kill the patient. But, make no mistake, the Euro is going to die.  I must admit that Draghi looks like one of those Sicilian chaps who would saw off your legs just below the knee with a rusty hacksaw, go to church with his extended family, have Sunday lunch on the terrace of a fine palazzo, then come back to scoop out your eyeballs with the silver teaspoon from his post-prandial espresso.There is no exit policy as the US is about to find out when it tries to raise rates later this year. This is obvious when you consider the wisdom behind fixing a problem of too much debt with more cheaper debt and ignoring all the structural issues that are strangling the real economy. In the UK they are in the same boat although its going to be a bit longer before we sink too. The housing market in the UK is a direct result of this misallocation of assets that he mentions as a risk. Its disguising the real problems in our economy and the longer it goes on the worse is going to be the adjustment. At 2% mortgage rates a one percent increase is a 50% in payments - how do our miracle workers at the bank think that is going to go down. Every year that rates stay this low more and more people take on homes AND debt that is mispriced.  Anyone who thinks this dont end badly are living in the same world as the policy clowns who devised this clueless tragedy.  "The premium on liquidity, when it is abundant, is very low, so people tend naturally to invest in assets which in other circumstances would be considered to be illiquid. This premium is expected to stay low as long as the abundant liquidity conditions last. That’s why exiting from abundant liquidity policies has to be done very, very carefully.”  Can someone explain this too me? What I'm getting is that once you have started QE you cannot stop - which seems to tie in with the experience in the USA.

The ECB is literally printing its own money by lending to Greece through creating very high risk assets and yet people are complaining about Varoufakis?  The ECB is temporarily preventing the economic failure of the Greek markets by employing high-risk techniques destined to fail eventually. Varoufakis is offering a solution which may fail, but may not (which has the side-benefit of improving the standard of living for the Greek populace). One of these methods is destined to fail whilst the other has the potential to succeed.  Varoufakis is actually being realistic in his demands, the Troika is not. At this rate though, Greece is destined to fail and become the gangrenous limb of the EU - I wonder how fast the infection will spread? There is 50+% youth unemployment in Spain and 60+% in Greece unemployment generally throughout the EU - except for Germany (I wonder why). Living standards wages and income for ordinary people is deteriorating rapidly.  These are the intended and desired results of the Neoliberal economic policies championed and shoved down the throats of European citizens (except Germany I wonder why) by Lagard and Dreghi. They are complete failures!!   Does anyone out there really believe that its some uncontrollable factors causing this depression for working people??? Do people really believe that continuation of existing policies is in any way good for working people?  Nothing could be more nauseating than to listen to them preen and fawn over each other.  Over and over evidence is presented and ignored by them and by a compliant Guardian which must have a budget for economic reporting of a shilling, or a drachma perhaps, it is so pathetic.  Can the Guardian not simply report on the projections and analysis of the IMF sense the crisis and compare them to what has actually happened?? You know, like the one that said unemployment in Greece would peak at 12% oh but its 26+% and rising ignore that. Just tooooo anti Neoliberal to present EVIDENCE.

Draghi, who was in Washington on Thursday to deliver a lecture on monetary policy, pointedly failed to mention the ongoing Greek crisis...  With Greece facing a severe cash crisis as it struggles to secure a rescue deal from its creditors, Varoufakis – who has been officially sidelined from the debt negotiations – told a conference in Athens that he would reject any agreement in which “the numbers do not add up”.  Greek GDP figures, published on Wednesday, revealed that the economy has already returned to recession.  “I wish we had the drachma, I wish we had never entered this monetary union,” Varoufakis said. “And I think that deep down all member states with the eurozone would agree with that now. Because it was very badly constructed. But once you are in, you don’t get out without a catastrophe”.  He also warned that a mooted proposal for a bond swap, to ease Athens’ cash-crunch, was likely to be rejected, because it struck “fear into the soul” of European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.  Despite his comments Greece on Thursday offered a concession to its international lenders by pushing ahead with the sale of its biggest port, Piraeus.  Greece has asked three firms to submit bids for a majority stake in the port, a senior privatization official told Reuters, unblocking a major sale of a public asset as creditors demand economic reforms from Athens.