MEPs want their say in laws on freezing terrorist assets (16th December 2009)

Any future measures to freeze the bank accounts of people linked to terrorist groups must be approved by the European Parliament, under a new resolution adopted in Strasbourg this week. In a debate on draft EU sanctions against people associated with Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaida and the Taleban, MEPs insisted that they be fully involved in drawing up new legislation. They also said that the individuals in question should be allowed the right to defend themselves before their assets are frozen.
The debate follows a decision by the EU Court of Justice last year which ruled that an EU regulation in place since 2002 was ‘seriously flawed’. The court found that blocking a person’s assets without informing them of the grounds for the decision so that they can mount an effective challenge violated their fundamental right to a fair hearing.
In Ireland as with EU countries, a blacklist of people with suspected terrorist links is regularly monitored by the Financial Regulator. But MEPs pointed out that this sanctions regime has been criticised by human rights organisations. They’ve called for the effectiveness of the blacklisting method to be re-assessed, claiming it has had ‘an adverse effect on conflict resolution and development efforts’ across the globe.