Brussels European Union member states unanimously rejected on Friday a proposal to blacklist Saudi Arabia and four US territories for lax controls on terrorism financing and money laundering, sources told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia had lobbied against being branded a “high-risk” country, as had been proposed by the bloc’s executive European Commission.
Representatives of EU states meeting in Brussels on Friday agreed on a statement on the matter, which was seen by Reuters and is expected to be formally adopted by justice and home affairs ministers meeting on Thursday.
“We cannot support the current proposal that was not established in a transparent and credible process that incentivizes affected countries to take decisive action while also respecting their right to be heard,” the statement said.
