Letter on behalf of the EUROPE II RRs - Ms. Oxana Gisca and Mr. Daniel Thelesklaf

Dear EUROPE II members,

We trust you are well!

We would like to start by thanking all of you for the great level of participation during the Regional meeting in Strasbourg (December 4th, 2019). As promised during the meeting below you may find a brief update regarding all agenda items which were not discussed because of the shortage in time:

• On agenda item 4 - Update on the work to produce a methodology for conducting strategic analysis of the laundering of the proceeds of corruption: After the meeting in the Hague, the first draft of the Framework was sent to the regional FIUs for comments and amendments. The feedback which was received during this consultation process was reflected and the Framework is now ready to be presented for approval by the EUROPE II FIUs. This will happen Out-of-session in a dew course with a separate letter.
• On agenda item 6 - EBC 2019 - Regional update: please see the attached a PowerPoint which was amended in order to reflect the up to date EBC 2019 results. The Secretariat is also aware of the technical issues which many FIUs experienced in the last days with the submission of their EBC Questionnaires and was trying to assist all FIU together with the Egmont Support Team. Please bear in mind that the results presented in the PowerPoint are reflecting only the successful uploads and accepted versions of the EBC 2019 questionnaire. FIUs that only uploaded the EBC are reminded that this year they have to also approve their questionnaires in order to consider their obligation as fulfilled.
  
• Agenda Item 7 - Egmont Group IT review: In March 2019 the HoFIU noted a Memorandum which provided the basis of the Review of the Egmont IT Needs project. Based on the approved timelines, governance and budget of the project, there was an external contractor selected in order to support the process. In November and December 2019, the consultant developed series of questionnaires and templates in order to collect necessary information on the current IT architecture of the EGS and ESW. In parallel, at the beginning of December 2019, the consultant also launched initial interviews with necessary targeted groups (EC members, HoFIUs, IT experts, etc.) in order to identify the main IT requirements of the organisation, as well as the level of satisfaction with the current technology deployed in the Egmont Group. All FIU members included in the list for these interviews were selected based on the consultant’s needs and were approved by the EC Steering Group which governs the project. The EUROPE II RRs will be also included in the interviews. In order to support the RRs, the Secretariat developed a tailor-made questionnaire which was sent to all EUROPE II members. The results of the questionnaire were analysed and provided to the RRs. It is expected that the IT review project will be completed by April 2020. The region will be duly informed about any other important developments. 
• Agenda Item 8 - Egmont Group Meeting, Mauritius, January 2020: the meetings in Mauritius will officially start on Tuesday, January 28th, 2020 and will finish on Thursday, January 30th, 2020. Based on the decision taken in The Hague, the EUROPE II Regional Group will not have a meeting in Mauritius, but all members are encouraged to join the activities of the 4 Working Groups and ECOFEL which will take place during the above-mentioned period. Please be aware that IEWG will have their usual Sidebar meetings one day in advance - on Monday, January 27th, 2020. All interested FIUs are invited to register and join these sidebar meetings.

We remain at your disposal for any questions that you may have. Please bear in mind that the Secretariat will prepare a Summary document from the meeting which will be disseminated to the members in a due course with a separate email.

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Kind regards,

EGS