The European Parliament has approved a recommendation by the European Commission to remove the Philippines from the EU’s list of countries with high money laundering and terrorist financing risk.
The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) confirmed the news on Friday, which follows the EC last month declaring its intention to remove the Southeast Asian nation from the list. At the time, the EC said its decision was partially based on the actions of global AML watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which in February removed the Philippines from its “grey list” of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for strategic deficiencies in efforts to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
In Friday’s statement, the AMLC said this latest green light from the European Parliament highlights the country’s efforts to make its financial system more welcoming for foreign investors and easier for its citizens to use, especially overseas Filipinos.
“The Philippines was removed from the FATF Grey List in February 2025 after implementing reforms to strengthen its AML/CFT regime,” the AMLC said. “However, delisting from the FATF list does not automatically trigger removal from the EU List. The EC must formally assess the country’s compliance and submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
“Under EU legislative procedures, the Parliament had up to 60 days to raise objections to EC’s proposed resolutions. On 9 July, the European Parliament voted to adopt the EC’s 10 June proposal. The regulation will enter into force upon its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, officially ending the Philippines’ designation as a high-risk country under EU financial regulations.”
The agency said it expects the exits to encourage investments and other transactions, keep remittances by overseas Filipinos easy and affordable, and lead some foreign banks to resume correspondent banking ties with the Philippines.
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