Parliament endorses draft proposal related to protection of the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law

Further information:

This directive provides for common definitions of several fraud-related crimes against the EU budget such as corruption, misappropriation of funds and cross-border VAT fraud. It also lays down a minimum prescription period and a maximum penalty.

The EU-wide definition of offences against the EU budget also lays down the mandate for the European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO), expected to be running in 2020-21. The provisions of this directive are also expected to be applied by national law enforcement agencies.

Member States would have two years to apply the measures stipulated in the directive. Denmark and the United Kingdom opted out of the application of the directive.

Background:

This draft proposal was put forward by the European Commission in July 2012, aiming to tackle fraud and damage to EU budget, fed by taxpayers' money. Effective safeguard of the EU's financial interests was then met with divergent national legal frameworks and levels of protection. That contrast was visible from the definitions used for the crimes to the levels of sanctions.

The Council of the European Union adopted its general approach to the proposed directive in June 2013, while the European Parliament approved its own position in April 2014. Interinstitutional negotiations were held for years. In April 2017, the Council formally adopted the compromise reached with the Parliament. Following the latter's endorsement of the draft proposal, it was ready to be published in the Official Journal.

The European Parliament's plenary session adopted on 5 July 2017 a draft proposal regarding the protection of the European Union's financial interests by means of criminal law.