Print Magazine
Brussels Morning Newspaper
Monday, June 27, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Confiscation and reallocation of mafia assets works in Italy, it can work in Europe too

Sabrina Pignedoli MEP by Sabrina Pignedoli MEP
24 February 2021
in Opinion
Confiscation and reallocation of mafia assets works in Italy, it can work in Europe too

A police car patrols an empty street in Taormina this month after restrictions were imposed to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Regulations that enable European member states to confiscate mafia assets and reallocate them to the third sector should take hold, writes Sabrina Pignedoli.

Brussels (Brussels Morning) An important element in the fight against mafias is reallocating the confiscated assets of these criminal organisations for projects or initiatives that instead, benefit society. 

Management of assets seized in Italy is entrusted to ANBSC (National Agency for the Administration and Destination of Assets Seized and Confiscated from Organised Crime). The work of this agency shows that from the fight against mafias we can derive social utility.

After a recent call by ANSBC, the first one to entrust the confiscated goods — a thousand lots of land throughout Italy — directly to the third sector, an inspection discovered that some of these lots were still in the hands of criminal organisations. Some could not be reallocated others only existed only on land register maps. 

Many of the associations that responded to the call, with 160 projects, were disappointed, but I tell them not to be discouraged. We must continue this civic battle with tenacity and not give in to absurdities such as the one in which the SIPPI database — where the assets subject to confiscation are catalogued — does not correspond to the databases to which the local police have access.

Progress

In Italy, as in Europe, there is a lot of work to be done but the fruits of our political action are becoming evident. In fact, last December the European regulation 2018/1805 on the mutual recognition of the freezing and confiscation of mafia assets in all European countries came into force. 

The regulation is an attack to the heart of organised crime that too often takes dirty money abroad, recycling it into apparently clean investments that are not raising suspicions among local authorities. The Five Star Movement in Brussels had worked hard during the last legislature to improve and strengthen the regulation 2018/1805. Thanks to our amendments and our active contribution, we were able to include Italian preventive measures in the scope of the regulation, focusing on the fact that the amendments fully respected the rights of accused and suspects and had the purpose of removing the assets available to criminal organisations. 

This new regulation on the mutual recognition of the freezing and confiscation of mafia property in all the European countries has quickly found a first application: a land of about 4.6 square miles was seized in Zimbor, Romania, in the context of an anti-Camorra operation of the Prosecutor’s office of Salerno. 

Cross-Europe battle

Finally, an end was put to the shameful tricks of crime bosses whose money laundering by way of investments in other European countries guaranteed them impunity and wealth.

Thanks to this regulation, the fight against the mafia is not hindered by borders and is extended to all Europe. 

The next objective will be to extend the process of reallocation to all European countries and for a specific ‘anti-mafia’ legislation in all EU member states, similar to the approaches in Italy. The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on my report, in which the Commission is urged to intervene so that mafia crimes will be recognised in all the member states.

The criminal offense of mafia association must be included in European law with the aim of giving to the judiciary and law enforcement the right tools to fight mafias more effectively. Only in this way our society will be fairer and freer.

Tags: Brussels DirectMain-SliderMEP

Latest post

Mont,De,Marsan,Landes,France,05,17,2019,Eurofighter,Typhoon

German MTU hopes for new contracts in Luftwaffe overhaul

2 days ago
Flags,Of,Moldova,European,Union,And,Ukraine

Supporting Moldova means supporting stability in Ukraine

3 days ago

Most Read

  • These are the 10 highest paying jobs in the Europe in 2022

    These are the 10 highest paying jobs in the Europe in 2022

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Are The Highest Paying Jobs In Luxembourg?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Energy Recovery Fund

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Are The Highest Paying Jobs In Finland?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A taste of Croatian flavors of the diplomacy in Brussels

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn

About Us

Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

Category

  • Ambassador’s Corner
  • Belgium News
  • Brussels
  • Commission
  • Council
  • Culture and Society
  • Diplomacy
  • Economy
  • EU Institutions
  • Europe
  • Europe With Transparency
  • Features
  • In Depth
  • Member States
  • Middle East Eye
  • Opinion
  • Our pick
  • Parliament
  • Place de la Bourse
  • Southeast Europe
  • Sustainable Perspective
  • The American Angle
  • The Macro-Economist
  • Uncategorised
  • US Elections
  • World

More info

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Cookies Policy
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Jobs

Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • EU Institutions
    • Parliament
    • Commission
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Member States
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • The American Angle
    • Southeast Europe
  • Print Magazine

Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT