Panama asked the European Union (EU) on Monday for its support to remove the Central American country from the lists due to its deficiencies in the fight against money launderingone of them the black of this European organization.
“We clearly request the support of the European Union in the efforts that the country is making to get off the discriminatory lists”said the Panamanian Foreign Minister, Erika Mouynes, at the end of a meeting with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Spaniard Josep Borrel.
The message “couldn’t be clearer: Panama is and will continue to be a country that fulfills its international commitments and strives to raise the capacity of its institutions in all areas and we look forward to the support of our strategic partners,” he added.
Last February, the EU kept Panama on its black list of tax havens along with American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatuafter verifying that they continue not to cooperate or have not carried out the reforms to which they had committed themselves.
The EU cannot remove Panama from its list if Gafi does not do so first
“We cannot remove Panama” from the EU blacklist “if before” it does not do so the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In fact, they are on the EU list because that is what FATF has proposed,” Borrell said.
In its latest update, FATF kept Panama on the “gray list”in which it has been since 2019, and “strongly” urged the country to “quickly demonstrate significant progress in completing its action plan by June 2022.”
This would prevent further measures, including the possibility of being included in the FATF “black list”, in whichand there are only Iran and North Korea.
Borrell assured that he “knows” and that values ”positively the effort being made” by the Government of President Laurentino Cortizo, “drastically limiting the number of companies domiciled” in Panama, “taking measures that I hope will lead to a delisting”.
“Without a doubt, the EU supports Panama technically and I salute the efforts it is making to adapt its legislation and practices so that can meet the demands of the global forum” and get off the list,” he added.
Support to face migratory pressure and climate change
The head of European diplomacy also offered Panama “support to face the migratory pressure that the country suffers”which serves as a transit route for tens of thousands of irregular migrants from all over the world who travel to North America, especially the United States.
“I have been impressed with the figure of 133,000 migrants who have crossed the jungles of Darién in just one year (2021),” the natural border with Colombia, a figure “that represents more than in the previous 10,” he said.
The EU will also support Panama “to deal with climate change and to the digital revolution”.
“Panama is undoubtedly a country with an enormous future,” added Borrell, who highlighted this country as “a forum for political stability” in the region, and highlighted its very important trade relationship with the EU, which “last year it exceeded 3,000 million euros”.
Borrell began a two-day visit to Panama on Monday to develop an agenda for the Panamanian government and meet this Tuesday with the foreign ministers of Central America and the Caribbean to deals with the impact of ukrainian war.