Rule of law or rule of no-one? Bypassing listing procedures through de-centralised de-banking and de-funding practices

Over the last decade, the issue of respect of the rule of law by some EU Member States has been constantly debated. Much less has been said about the compatibility with such a value of some areas of the EU’s action. The EU’s approach against terrorism financing and money laundering deserves particular attention in this regard, given its cross-border nature and its impact on individuals. While EU law provides for specific rules as to formal counterterrorism procedures, over the years, several de-centralised practices have emerged that run the risk of watering down the respect of affected persons’ guarantees. This chapter provides a comparative analysis between listing procedures and de-centralised practices. While it concludes that the latter do not allow for a comparable level of respect of basic fair trial guarantees, the chapter also provides a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring similar levels of safeguard are guaranteed.