The European Union is planning to tighten controls on cash flows across its borders to stop the financing of terrorism, but EU states need to decide which amount should trigger formal checks, diplomats said on Monday. The planned EU rules on cash control, a follow-up to tough EU money laundering laws on bank transactions introduced in the wake of the September 11 air attacks, will be discussed by EU finance ministers at a monthly meeting on Tuesday.
Diplomats said the ministers will try to reach an agreement.
"We see more and more that terrorists can use small amount of money to do damage," Dutch Ambassador to the EU Thom de Bruijn told a news conference.
"The draft EU regulation (on cash control) is more or less agreed. The only outstanding issue is the threshold amount."
The planned cash controls regulation, unveiled by the EU executive Commission in June 2002, says travellers crossing any external EU border with more than 15,000 euros ($19,420) in cash should declare it in writing or face a penalty.
The same rule would apply to cash equivalent such as cheques drawn on a third party and traveller's and postal cheques.
But some EU states say this level is too high and would want it to be lowered to 10,000 or 8,000 euros.
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