Walter Finch
GIBRALTAR has been cleared for removal from the EU’s financial ‘grey list’ after the European Parliament rejected a last-ditch attempt by Spain’s far-right Vox party to keep the Rock on Brussel’s naughty step.
MEPs voted 501 to 101 against a resolution pushed by Vox’s Jorge Buxadé Villalba, who claimed Gibraltar continued to pose a threat to the international financial system as a high-risk third country for money laundering.
The vote effectively endorses the European Commission’s proposal to delist Gibraltar, which now awaits formal confirmation in the Official Journal of the European Union, provided the European Council raises no objections – a step expected within days.
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Gibraltar’s Minister for Trade, Justice and Industry Nigel Feetham, who travelled to Brussels to lobby ahead of the vote, hailed the decision as a long-overdue vindication of the territory’s financial reforms.
“This brings an end to the uncertainty about Gibraltar’s merited delisting which should have happened over a year ago following our delisting by the FATF,” Feetham said, referring to the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog on financial crime, which removed Gibraltar from its own grey list in June 2023.
The EU grey list is part of the bloc’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework, mirroring the FATF’s monitoring process.
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Countries and territories on the list are considered to pose strategic deficiencies in AML and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) systems but have committed to reforms.
Gibraltar’s inclusion on the list had been controversial, particularly given its efforts in recent years to align with international compliance standards.
Feetham credited sustained engagement with EU institutions and reform across Gibraltar’s financial services industry for the successful outcome, stressing that the government was committed to remaining “at the vanguard of the fight against money laundering and counter terrorist financing.”
The vote also saw the removal of Panama, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the list – all of which had previously been grey-listed but have since implemented significant reforms.
Spain’s Vox party had tried to single out Gibraltar in a separate amendment, arguing that its delisting would undermine the EU’s financial integrity and border controls.
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However, the attempt failed to gain traction beyond a small cluster of ultranationalist and Eurosceptic MEPs.
Villalba’s Patriots for Europe coalition, recently launched by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, found little support among mainstream parliamentary groups.
The outcome is being seen as a major diplomatic victory for Gibraltar, and comes just a month after the UK, Spain and the EU reached a draft agreement to dismantle the physical border at La Línea, in favour of a Schengen-style free movement zone.
Analysts say the vote strengthens Gibraltar’s hand in ongoing negotiations, showing that Brussels recognises the Rock as a responsible and cooperative financial jurisdiction, despite repeated attempts by elements within Spain to portray it otherwise.
Feetham concluded by promising that the government would not become complacent: “We’ll continue to improve and are committed to maintaining the highest international standards and working constructively with our European and international partners.”
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