The European Council and the Parliament have reached an agreement to host the upcoming European Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing (AMLA) in Frankfurt. As per the information detailed in the press release, AMLA is set to be based in Frankfurt, Germany and begin operations as of the middle of 2025, with the authority having over 400 staff members.

The additional regulator represents the core of the reform of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework, as it has direct and indirect supervisory powers over obliged entities and the ability to impose sanctions and measures. Being part of a broader AML initiative, the regulation was designed to safeguard EU citizens and the European financial system against the threats of money laundering and terrorist financing. More details about AMLA and its capabilities The Council and the Parliament collaborated to ensure a selection process that is transparent, fair, and equitable to all candidates.

The decisive agreement on the local of AMLA’s seat was conducted by the co-legislators in an informal inter-institutional meeting at the political level, in which the Parliament and Council’s representatives voted at the same time with 27 votes attributed to each co-legislator. Additionally, the location of the seat will be integrated into the AMLA regulation and formally adopted as part of the text. Furthermore, the decision follows the Commission’s legislative proposals to improve the EU’s rules on AML and countering terrorist financing (CFT), with the package including a regulation that established an additional EU AML authority. Prior to the final agreement, the Council and the Parliament found a provisional arrangement on the AMLA regulation in December 2023.

Discussions to agree on a selection procedure for the location of the seat of AMLA took place between the Parliament, the Council, and the Commission. Co-legislators agreed in June 2023 on common criteria for the selection of the seat of AMLA, while in September 2023, the Commission launched the call for applications, with the deadline of November 2023 for member states to send applications. Nine member states submitted applications to host AMLA, including Belgium (Brussels), Germany (Frankfurt), Ireland (Dublin), Spain (Madrid), France (Paris), Italy (Rome), Latvia (Riga), Lithuania (Vilnius), and Austria (Vienna), with the Commission being tasked to assess the eligibility of the candidates. Additionally, the co-legislators arranged on the principle of organising common public hearing to enable representatives of member states’ candidacies to present their applications, with them assessing each one according to the selection criteria included in the call for applications, the information offered by candidates in their application forms, the Commission’s assessment of those forms, and the outcome of joint public hearings.

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