The -Other- “Ban” that Was Quietly Announced Last Week: Europe’s Ban on Cash
- The -Other- “Ban” that Was Quietly Announced Last Week: Europe’s Ban on Cash
by Simon Black, https://www.sovereignman.com/
Most of the world is in an uproar right now over the travel ban that Donald Trump hastily imposed late last week on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. But there was another ban that was quietly proposed last week, and this one has far wider implications: a ban on cash.
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The European Union’s primary executive authority, known as the European Commission, issued a “Road Map” last week to initiate continent-wide legislation against cash.
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There are already a number of anti-cash legislative measures that have been passed in individual European member states. In France, for example, it’s illegal to make purchases of more than 1,000 euros in cash. And any cash deposit or withdrawal to/from a French bank account exceeding 10,000 euros within a single month must be reported to the authorities.
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Italy banned cash payments above 1,000 euros back in 2011; Spain has banned cash payments in excess of 2,500 euros. And the European Central Bank announced last year that it would stop production of 500-euro notes, which will eventually phase them out altogether. But apparently these disparate rules don’t go far enough.
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According to the Commission, the presence of cash controls in some EU countries, coupled with the lack of cash controls in other EU countries, creates loopholes for criminals and terrorists. So that’s why the European Commission is now working to standardize a ban on cash, or at least implement severe restrictions and reporting, across the entire EU.
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The Commission’s roadmap indicates that forthcoming legislation, likely to be enacted next year. This is happening. And it may serve as the perfect case study for the rest of the world.
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A growing bandwagon of academics and policy makers in other countries, including the United States, UK, Australia, etc. has been calling for prohibitions against cash. It’s always the same song: cash is a tool for criminals and terrorists.
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read more.
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