European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans addresses the European Parliament during a debate on the commission work Programme for 2017, in Strasbourg, France.
As the war on cash grows more intense, citizens naturally turn to gold as a way to preserve wealth without fear of digital asset freezes and negative interest rates. So, it was just a matter of time before the war on cash converted into a war on gold. That’s happening now. Check out the article below for EU’s recent announcement for stepped-up surveillance of physical gold coming into the EU, and its plans to seize the gold on mere “suspicion” without any proof of bad intent. Ironically, many Jews escaped the holocaust in Europe during the 1930s by sewing gold into the linings of their coats and dresses so that they would have some ability to pay for safe passage, and preserve some wealth after their escape. The first time I bought gold bullion I waited in line behind two Jews in their late eighties who escaped the holocaust that way. They were still accumulating gold sixty-five years later! This EU gold action is just the tip of the iceberg. The war on cash has been going on for a while (the U.S. eliminated the $500 bill in the late 1960s). But authorities are just waking up to the fact that honest citizens can still convert from cash to gold in order to escape the digital slaughterhouse the banks have planned. The war on gold has begun in earnest. The time to acquire physical gold is now — while you still can. – Rickards
EU to boost border checks on cash, gold to tackle “terrorism financing”
The move follows Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, where 12 people were killed as a truck ploughed into a crowd. It is part of an EU “action plan against terrorist financing” unveiled after the bombings and shootings in Paris in November 2015.
Under the new proposals, customs officials in European Union states can step up checks on cash and prepaid payment cards sent by post or in freight shipments.
Authorities will also be able to seize cash or precious metals carried by suspect individuals entering the EU.
People carrying more than 10,000 euros (8,413.56 pounds) in cash already have to declare this at customs when entering the EU. The new rules would allow authorities to seize money below that threshold “where there are suspicions of criminal activity,” the EU executive commission said in a note.
EU officials said some of the recent attacks in Europe were carried out with limited funds, sometimes sent from outside the EU by criminal networks.
The Commission is also considering whether to set up an EU-focussed “terrorist finance tracking programme” along the lines of the U.S.-EU TFTP, which has long been opposed by EU lawmakers and privacy campaigners because it allows widespread checks on consumers’ bank transfers.
“There are a lots of new ways of transferring money and not all of those are covered in the EU-US scheme,” security commissioner Julian King told a news conference in Brussels. He said the Commission will study the impact of a possible EU programme and “report back by next summer.”
The Commission is also proposing common rules for the 28 EU countries on freezing “terrorists’ financial resources” and on confiscating assets even from those thought to be connected to criminals.
Brussels also wants EU states to apply minimum common rules on money laundering, to avoid criminals exploiting differences between different countries.
Security forces across the bloc would also be able to exchange information more effectively under a planned review of the European system for sharing information.
The proposals must be approved by EU states and the European Parliament to become law.
The plan complements Commission proposals after the Paris attacks to tighten controls on virtual currencies such as bitcoin, and prepaid cards, which French authorities said were used to fund the bombings.
EU states backed these proposals on Tuesday. Under the deal, which still needs European Parliament approval, holders of prepaid cards would have to show some form of identity when they make payments of 150 euros or more.