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Coincidentally, by bringing its AML Package forward, the EU is arguably seeking to raise its standards, which aligns them more closely with the U.K.’s. The U.K. is far from perfect in fighting financial crime, of course, but when it comes to this package’s areas of focus — particularly the supervision of regulated entities — it’s clearly ahead of most of its European friends.
It’s no surprise the bloc’s European Banking Authority was in London until Brexit. And there’s much that collaboration between London, its network of international financial centers, Brussels and the EU’s financial capitals could bring to the table.
Much has changed in global security since the U.K. voted to leave the EU, though. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an increasingly organized and assertive global south, and China’s economic clout all actively pose finance and security challenges. However, they represent important opportunities for working together too.
Sanctions are the most obvious first step here. Even before the Kremlin dramatically escalated its illegal war in Ukraine, the U.K. and EU had close working relations on sanctions, rooted in Britain’s widely acknowledged leadership in this arena prior to Brexit. And there’s no doubt the strength of this partnership has developed over the last two years.
At times, there is no doubt that the EU has drawn on the historically more well-developed U.K. sanctions apparatus, setting the stage for a possible new pan-European approach. And if used effectively, such coordination could support shared European foreign policy goals, whether through reinforced joint signaling to external partners or bolstering the effectiveness of existing regimes and programs.
Moreover, the EU’s rollout of sanctions against Russia awoke an appetite in Brussels to continue using restrictive measures as an important part of its foreign policy toolkit. So, with sanctions here to stay, learning from the Russia experience and looking at how to best coordinate with close economic neighbors may well become urgently unavoidable if Trump wins the White House in November.