Daniel Ferrie, a spokesperson for the European Commission, says financing terrorism and preventing money laundering are European Union’s (EU) top priorities, reports Geo News.

The EU spokesperson was asked why Pakistan has been placed on the Finance Action Task Force (FATF) grey list despite implementing 26 out of 27 points.

“You may have noticed that many of the steps we have taken in recent years are important not only for the European Union but also for the world,” he said.

A diplomat based in Europe told Geo News that such a statement is not serving Pakistan and was rather received negatively by European capitals.

Pakistan recently raised a question about whether FATF is a technical or political body.

He said such statements are “not only counterproductive but also harmful to Pakistan’s interest”.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently said it needed to be looked into whether FATF was “being used for political purposes”, adding that “some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan”.