|
Abstract:
The rapid development of internal European Union action in criminal matters in recent years has been accompanied by a strong emphasis on external action in the field. Implementation of the EU acquis in the field has been required in the context of accession negotiations and has been an important (if not thorny) issue in both the 2004 and 2007 enlargements; and cooperation in criminal matters is regularly requested by the neighbours of the Union. Moreover, recent years saw the European Union launching itself as an international actor in criminal matters by negotiating and concluding a series of – heavily contested – international agreements with third countries (primarily with the USA) in the field. Less visible, but perhaps equally far-reaching, has been the Union’s involvement in the development and application of international criminal law standards via its participation in international treaties and organizations, and its acceptance in the Union legal order of standards produced by international organizations and bodies. This article will examine the many facets of EU external action in criminal matters. Developments in the external field will be viewed in the light of their coherence with the Union’s ‘internal’ action in criminal matters, and the broader challenges that EU external action in the field to the EU’s projected identity and values will be explored.
|
