Crimes against the financial interest of the EU

Abstract

One of the essential items on the Union's agenda in the fight against crime is the protection of the Union's budget. This affects billions of euros per year. As a result, it is in the EU's and Member States' interest to fight corruption. The EU itself has adopted the 'Convention on the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities' marking the first attempt by the Union in protecting its budget from fraud through criminal law, i.e., the Europeanization of criminal law, accessed through the 'United Nations Convention against Corruption'. The different legal systems of the Member States make fighting crime within the EU more difficult than it already is because each system admits different sanctions, time limits for criminal offences, rules for the collection of evidence and investigation powers. Combined with the difficulty which currently exists within the Union regarding the fact that no proper definitions are given for these European core crimes which affect the finances of the EU, the need was felt to retaliate to crime in a different and a more effective manner by dedicating articles to it in the Lisbon Treaty. The purpose of this paper is to give a general synopsis of how the EU combats crimes against its financial interests.