ANC says removal of SA from the EU’s high‑risk list is a political triumph

The African National Congress (ANC) has welcomed the removal of South Africa from the European Union’s list of high-risk countries.

This list pertains to countries with weak systems for detecting illicit financial flows and poses a negative impact on trade with EU markets.

However, the EU recently removed South Africa from the list, following the country’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force Greylist.

In 2023 South Africa was added onto the Greylist.

The force felt that there were deficiencies in the country’s financial systems to detect illicit flows like terrorist funding.

As a result of being added onto the Greylist, the EU also added South Africa into its list of high-risk country jurisdictions.

Countries on this list are subjected to rigorous bureaucracy and monitoring for transactions.

However after strengthening its systems, last year SA was removed from the Greylist and has subsequently been taken off the EU’s high risk list.

The ANC which forms part of the country’s governing coalition said that the removal from these lists show the importance of investing in ethical governance. 

In a statement the party said, "This milestone is part of a broader journey of renewal. It reaffirms the importance of state capacity, professionalism, and ethical governance in advancing the vision of the Freedom Charter. The removal of South Africa from the EU’s high‑risk list is therefore both a technical victory and a political triumph."