Current Position & Biography
Assita Kanko is a Belgian Member of the European Parliament for the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and a vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group. The group lists her as its coordinator on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). She also serves on the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield.
Kanko has served in the European Parliament since 2019. Her work spans civil liberties, justice and security, with a direct contribution to the European Union’s framework for tracing crypto-asset transfers. Her crypto-policy record is grounded in a completed legislative assignment rather than a current executive role at a financial regulator.
Notable Contributions
Kanko was the LIBE co-rapporteur on the regulation concerning information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets. The European Parliament’s Legislative Observatory records her appointment on 25 November 2021, alongside ECON co-rapporteur Ernest Urtasun. The procedure, 2021/0241(COD), concluded with Regulation (EU) 2023/1113.
During the negotiations, Kanko argued for extending the financial-sector travel rule to crypto-asset transfers. In its June 2022 account of the agreement, the ECR Group identified her and Urtasun as Parliament’s lead negotiators. Her stated priorities included traceability, anti-money-laundering controls and protection for legitimate market participants.
Ahead of the April 2023 parliamentary vote, Kanko advocated treating crypto as a sector subject to ordinary regulatory safeguards. Her public position emphasized combating criminal misuse without declaring crypto-assets inherently good or bad. These are attributed policy positions, not claims that the regulation eliminates financial crime or guarantees investor safety.
During the 2022 debate, industry critics raised privacy and innovation concerns; Kanko said her aim was to address criminal misuse and bring crypto into the mainstream.
Why Katharos Is Following Them
Katharos follows Kanko for her documented role in shaping the EU rules that connect crypto-asset transfers with financial-crime controls. Her continuing work in LIBE provides a relevant perspective on the relationship between enforcement, privacy and the practical obligations placed on service providers. This is an editorial assessment of her public record.
Areas to Follow
- Public positions on the implementation and revision of crypto-transfer tracing rules. - Work connecting anti-money-laundering policy with civil liberties and data protection. - Parliamentary scrutiny of how financial-crime safeguards affect legitimate crypto activity.
These are topics for future reporting, not assertions that she currently leads a new crypto-legislation file.
Reporting Scope
This profile distinguishes Kanko’s current parliamentary responsibilities from her completed crypto-transfer rapporteur assignment. The Transfer of Funds Regulation is a separate instrument from MiCA; she is not described here as MiCA’s lead rapporteur. Coverage of public work does not imply endorsement by Kanko, her party or the European Parliament.
Katharos Category
Policy & Regulation
Photo Credit
CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2024 - Source : EP. “EE24 - Election night - Sunday 09 June,” 9 June 2024. Cropped and resized for the hero and card. Original photograph: Source 7; license: Source 8. No endorsement is implied.