The European Parliament backed new rules on Thursday which would expand European Union law on money laundering to cover the financing of terrorism. The new proposals, drafted the European Commission, are seen by the EU executive as a key step in the fight against militant Islamist networks such as al Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said the new rules provided the EU with "state-of-the-art defences" against money laundering and terrorist financing. "Not only will the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing benefit from this, but also the integrity and stability of the financial sector," he said in a statement. Parliament's backing paves the way for EU finance ministers to endorse the new rules when they meet next month. Money laundering continues to be defined as concealing or disguising profits made from serious crime. But the rules also target financing of terrorism with either criminally or legally obtained money. --More 1835 Local Time 1535 GMT
