Peer reviews
1. The Authority shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of non-financial supervisors and public authorities referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 to strengthen consistency and effectiveness in supervisory outcomes. The Authority shall develop methods to allow for an objective assessment and comparison between the non-financial supervisors reviewed. Where relevant, the planning and conducting of assessments shall take due account of the evaluations, assessments and reports drawn up by international organisations and intergovernmental bodies with competence in the field of AML/CFT. The assessments may also take due account of the information contained in the central AML/CFT database established pursuant to Article 11 of this Regulation.
The methods referred to in the first subparagraph shall take into account the specific features of the supervisory framework in cases where supervision is entrusted to self-regulatory bodies, including the role of the public authority responsible for overseeing those bodies pursuant to Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, and the specific characteristics of supervisors in those cases.
2. Peer reviews shall be carried out by the staff of the Authority jointly with the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors and of the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640.
3. The peer review shall include an assessment of, but not be limited to:
(a)
the adequacy of powers and of financial, human and technical resources, the degree of independence and the governance arrangements and professional standards of the non-financial supervisor to ensure the effective application of Chapter IV of Directive (EU) 2024/1640;
(b)
the effectiveness and the degree of convergence reached in the application of Union law and in supervisory practice, and the extent to which the supervisory practice achieves the objectives set out in Union law;
(c)
the application of best practices developed by non-financial supervisors whose adoption might be of benefit for other non-financial supervisors;
(d)
the effectiveness and the degree of convergence reached with regard to the enforcement of the provisions adopted in the implementation of Union law, including the pecuniary sanctions imposed and administrative measures applied against persons responsible where those provisions have not been complied with.
4. The Authority shall produce a report setting out the results of the peer review. That peer review report shall be jointly prepared by the staff of the Authority and the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors and of the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 involved in the peer review, and adopted by the Executive Board, having received the observations of the General Board in supervisory composition as to the consistency of application of the methodology with other peer review reports. The report shall explain and indicate the follow-up measures that are deemed appropriate, proportionate and necessary as a result of the peer review. Those follow-up measures may be adopted in the form of guidelines and recommendations pursuant to Article 54 and opinions pursuant to Article 55 of this Regulation. The non-financial supervisors and the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 shall make every effort to comply with any guidelines and recommendations issued, in accordance with Article 54(3) of this Regulation.
5. The Authority shall publish the findings of the peer review on its website and inform at least the European Parliament thereof. It shall submit an opinion to the Commission where, having regard to the outcome of the peer review or to any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, it considers that further harmonisation of Union rules applicable to obliged entities in the non-financial sector or to non-financial supervisors would be necessary from the Union’s perspective.
6. The Authority shall provide a follow-up report two years after the publication of the peer review report. The follow-up report shall be jointly prepared by the staff of the Authority and the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors involved in the peer review, and shall be adopted by the Executive Board, having received the observations of the General Board in supervisory composition on the consistency of application of the methodology with other peer review reports. The follow-up report shall include an assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the non-financial supervisors that were subject to the peer review in response to the follow-up measures of the peer review report. The Authority shall publish the findings of the follow-up report on its website.
7. For the purposes of this Article, the Executive Board shall adopt a peer review work plan every two years, after consulting the General Board in supervisory composition. That peer review work plan shall reflect the lessons learnt from past peer review processes and discussions held in the General Board in supervisory composition. The General Board in supervisory composition, acting by a majority of two thirds of its members, may require the Executive Board to adopt a new plan. The peer review work plan shall constitute a separate part of the annual and multiannual working programme and shall be included in the single programming document referred to in Article 65. In the case of urgent or unforeseen events, the Authority may decide to carry out additional peer reviews.
8. Where peer reviews concern supervisory activities which in one or more Member States are carried out by self-regulatory bodies, the peer review shall include an assessment of measures taken pursuant to Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 by the public authority responsible for overseeing those bodies to ensure that they perform their function adequately and effectively.
9. Where peer reviews concern supervisory activities which in one or more Member States are carried out by self-regulatory bodies, those self-regulatory bodies shall not be required to participate. However, where they indicate an interest in participating in a peer review, staff of those bodies that are entrusted with supervisory tasks shall be allowed to participate in that peer review.
Coordination and facilitation of the work of AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the non-financial sector
1. The Authority shall, within the scope of its powers and without prejudice to the powers of the relevant non-financial supervisors pursuant to Article 50 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, assist in the setting up and functioning of AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the non-financial sector for obliged entities in the non-financial sector operating establishments in several Member States in accordance with that Article.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Authority may:
(a)
suggest the establishment of a college where no such college has been established even though the Authority considers that the ML/TF risk exposure of the obliged entity and the scale of its cross-border activities justify the establishment of a college, and the convocation and organisation of college meetings;
(b)
assist in the organisation of college meetings and in the assessment of whether the conditions for the participation of third-country supervisors in the college are met, where requested by the relevant non-financial supervisors;
(c)
assist in the organisation of joint supervisory plans and joint on-site inspections or off-site investigations;
(d)
assist the non-financial supervisors in the collection and sharing of all relevant information in order to facilitate the work of the college and make such information accessible to the supervisors in the college;
(e)
promote effective and efficient supervisory activities and practices, including evaluating the risks to which obliged entities in the non-financial sector are or might be exposed;
(f)
provide assistance to non-financial supervisors, upon their specific requests, including requests to mediate between non-financial supervisors in the situations covered by Article 50(2) and (3) of Directive (EU) 2024/1640.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the staff of the Authority shall have full participation rights in AML/CFT supervisory colleges. Upon the agreement of the non-financial supervisors concerned, the staff of the Authority shall be able to participate in the activities of the college carried out jointly by two or more non-financial supervisors, including on-site inspections of obliged entities in the non-financial sector, except those covered by Article 3, point (3)(a) and (b), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
Warnings of breaches of Union law by non-financial supervisors and public authorities overseeing self-regulatory bodies
1. Where the Authority has grounds to suspect that a non-financial supervisor or a public authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 has not applied the Union acts or the national legislation referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation, or has applied them in a way which appears to breach Union law, it shall inform the supervisor or public authority concerned of those suspected breaches and investigate them.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the Authority may act upon the request of one or more non-financial supervisors or public authorities, the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission, or on its own initiative, including where such action is based on well-substantiated information from natural or legal persons pursuant to Article 90.
2. The Authority shall be able to request from the supervisor or public authority concerned all information which the Authority considers necessary for its investigation, including information on how the Union acts or national legislation referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation are applied in accordance with Union law, but with the exception of information covered by legal privilege, unless the exemptions set out in Article 21(2), second subparagraph, and Article 70(2), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and in Article 52(3), point (a), of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 apply.
The supervisor or public authority concerned shall, without delay, provide the Authority with the requested information.
Whenever the requested information from the supervisor or public authority concerned has proven, or is deemed to be, insufficient to obtain the information that is deemed necessary for the purposes of investigating the suspected breach, the Authority may, after having informed the supervisor or public authority concerned, address a duly justified and reasoned request for information directly to other supervisors or public authorities overseeing self-regulatory bodies.
The addressee of such a request shall provide the Authority with clear, accurate and complete information without undue delay.
3. The Authority may, not later than six months from initiating its investigation, address a recommendation to the supervisor or public authority concerned setting out the action necessary to remedy the identified breach.
Before issuing such a recommendation, the Authority shall engage with the supervisor or public authority concerned where it considers such engagement appropriate in order to resolve the breach, in an attempt to reach agreement on the actions necessary to that end.
The supervisor or public authority concerned shall, within 10 working days of receipt of the recommendation, inform the Authority of the steps it has taken or intends to take to resolve the breach.
4. Where the supervisor or public authority has not resolved the identified breach referred to in paragraph 3, first subparagraph, within one month of receipt of the Authority’s recommendation, the Authority shall issue a warning detailing the breach and identifying measures to be implemented by the addressees of the warning to mitigate its effects.
The warning referred to in the first subparagraph shall be addressed:
(a)
in the case of a non-financial supervisor, to the counterpart supervisors in other Member States and, where the supervisor is a self-regulatory body, its public authority;
(b)
in the case of a public authority, to the self-regulatory bodies under its oversight.
5. As soon as the supervisor or public authority concerned has resolved the breach, the Authority shall inform the addressees of its warning referred to in paragraph 4 that the breach has been resolved and that the mitigating measures have ceased.
Settlement of disagreements between non-financial supervisors in cross-border situations
1. The Authority may assist non-financial supervisors in reaching an agreement in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article at the request of one or more non-financial supervisors pursuant to Article 46, 47, 50 or 54 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 or in other instances where a non-financial supervisor disagrees with the procedure or content of an action, proposed action or inactivity of another non-financial supervisor insofar as it affects its own supervisory tasks and responsibilities in relation to a specific obliged entity or multiple obliged entities.
2. In cases other than those covered by Articles 46, 47, 50 and 54 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, a non-financial supervisor shall request the assistance of the Authority without undue delay where a provision of Union law requires that non-financial supervisor to reach, with another non-financial supervisor or other non-financial supervisors, an agreement, an arrangement or other form of established or formalised cooperation relating to the supervision of specific obliged entities, and any of the following occurs:
(a)
the agreement has been reached but has not been effectively applied or adhered to by one of the parties,
(b)
a non-financial supervisor concludes on the basis of objective reasons that a disagreement exists;
(c)
two months have elapsed from the date of receipt by a non-financial supervisor of a request from another non-financial supervisor to take certain action in order to comply with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation and the requested supervisor has not adopted a decision that satisfies the request.
3. The Executive Board shall assess any request referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and notify the relevant parties whether it considers the request justified and intends to act upon it in accordance with this Article.
4. The Authority shall set a time limit for conciliation between the non-financial supervisors taking into account any relevant time periods specified in Union law and the complexity and urgency of the matter. For the purposes of the conciliation phase, the Authority shall act as a mediator. Where necessary or provided for in Union law, the Authority shall issue an opinion on how to settle the disagreement.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
