BY PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
Maria Luís Albuquerque has been confirmed as the EU’s new financial services commissioner.
The move comes after Albuquerque, Portugal’s commission nominee, was grilled earlier today by MEPs as part of the hearings of the Commissioners-designate.
She was required to receive a two-thirds majority vote from MEPs after the hearing.
Politico reported that Albuquerque has now been formally approved, with all parties voted in favor of the Portuguese nominee “except the Left and the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations Group”.
During the hearing, Albuquerque said the cooperation of national FIUs (financial intelligence units) will make or break AMLA, the EU’s new AML regulator.
“The effectiveness of AMLA will depend a lot on how it can build on the existing financial intelligence units in the different member states, because they’re the ones on the ground,” she told the hearing.
“They are the ones who have the information. They have important links with other jurisdictions.
“So we need to bring everyone on board and have this European entity, which will still take a couple of years to be fully operational.”
Albuquerque, Portugal’s former finance minister, is understood to have impressed MEPs. Her performance during the three hour hearing today was considered impressive, demonstrating an attention to detail and strong political background.
Albuquerque also said the current estimate for AMLA’s budget “seem to be sufficient”. It is estimated that the regulator will have an annual budget of approximately €92 million, which will mostly be funded by banks.
AMLA, which is based in Frankfurt, will start operating from January. It will have 120 workers by the end of 2025, eventually reaching over 400 by 2027.
Albuquerque, a former Portuguese finance minister, was selected for the financial services portfolio in September. She will oversee AMLA and will have responsibility for tackling financial crime.
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