Commission proposes Directive on the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests

On July 11th, the Commission proposed a Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (COM 2012(363) final). The Union thereby takes the protection of its financial interests to a new (supranational) level. The proposed framework shall in the future replace the regime of the so called PIF Convention and its Protocols. The proposal is based on Art. 325 (4) TFEU and does not only the fight of fraudulent conduct but also extends to money laundering, misappropriation of funds, corruption and providing false information in a public procurement or grant procedure. For the first time, the proposed Directive introduces minimum penalties.

The ECPI will have a close look at the provisions at one of their next meetings and evaluate whether this recent proposal conforms to the fundamental principles of criminal law legislation as described in the Manifesto. It will need to be discussed whether Art. 325 (4) TFEU is indeed the appropriate legal base for harmonising the elements of crimes for other that do not involve a fraudulent conduct, whether introducing minimum penalties is in line with principles of proportionality and subsidiarity and whether the minimum penalties stipulated in this proposal do conform to the principle of guilt.