PERSPECTIVES OF HARMONIZATION OF EUROPEAN CRIMINAL LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
PERSPECTIVES OF HARMONIZATION OF EUROPEAN CRIMINAL LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Summary/Abstract: For almost four decades since the establishment of the European Communities, criminalization of certain acts has been left to the discretion of the Member States alone. Perspectives of harmonization of European criminal law, which were initially recognized and configured in the European Court of Justice's case-law, were subsequently extended under the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty and have fundamentally changed only through the Treaty of Lisbon, which introduced a clear legal basis for a wider Union competence in this field. Primacy of European law is a strong argument to mitigate the possible tendency to limit the intrusive effect of European criminal law on the national legal order. In addition, the choice of the Directive as a legal instrument, specific to the harmonization of legislation, favors the integration of European norms in the national legal system, and divergences of interpretation can be removed by using the CJEU's preliminary ruling mechanism, complemented with national means of unifying judicial practice. With regard to the protection of the EU's financial interests, the degree of harmonization is expected to be high, given the content of the proposal for a Directive which is intended to replace the existing PIF Convention, in particular the detailed provisions for the definition of offenses, including the concept of “Union financial interests”, the limits on the minimum and maximum penalties, as well as the new institutions to be "harmonized" (status of limitation). The new provisions will be grafted on some already existing ones, following the Convention on the Protection of the European Communities’ Financial Interests and its accompanying protocols.

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