C 100/110
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
16.3.2023
3.15.
Asset Management Offices will be specialised bodies set up or designated in each Member State to ensure the efficient management of frozen and confiscated property, and to cooperate with other competent authorities responsible for tracing, identifying, freezing, confiscating and managing either at national level or in cross-border cases.
The proposed Directive is more precise in laying down the offices’ roles and tasks and provides more clarity to the Member States in defining their asset recovery infrastructure. 3.16.
Asset disposal or return in cross-border proceedings should be subject to asset-sharing agreements to be signed by the relevant Member States.
National systems may vary significantly in terms of the type of authorities and procedures needed to engage in such agreements.
The proposed Directive does not entail specific provisions in this matter.
Therefore, it should explicitly give Asset Recovery and Management Offices relevant competences in this regard. 3.17.
Cooperation with third countries is particularly important as organised crime also exists beyond the EU and poses significant risks to the EU’s internal security.
As organised crime has become more interconnected, international and digital, it is important to ensure that authorities in third countries are able to cooperate with their peers in the Member States.
Various assistance and support instruments should be considered in order to further enforce the proposed Directive. 3.18.
The consultation instruments used by the Commission prior to the proposed Directive were inclusive and suited to the variety of stakeholders — in particular, the relevant authorities, professionals, business organisations, civil society organisations and the general public — in terms of duration and methods.
The EESC recognises the Commission’s efforts to make available reliable data and information on the state of affairs and progress of the Member States and of the EU as a whole in the field of illicit asset recovery.
Similar efforts are expected to be undertaken while the Directive is being transposed into national legislation and while its implementation is being evaluated.
Brussels, 14 December 2022.
The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Christa SCHWENG