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In December 2021, the Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation, applicable to both civil and criminal cases. The co-legislators arrived at a compromise text in July 2023, which was endorsed by the Council's Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) and jointly by the Parliament's Committees on Legal Affairs (JURI) and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in September. Parliament is due to vote on the compromise text ...

This analysis explores examples of best practices from selected parliaments in the areas of transparency, integrity, accountability and anti-corruption, and reflects on the effectiveness of the analysed approaches and their possible applicability for the European Parliament (EP). Findings confirm the need for the establishment of an independent European Union (EU) ethics body, granted investigative and enforcement powers with full transparency of enquiries, decisions and/or proposals as a pre-condition ...

Judicial cooperation in criminal matters is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judgments and judicial decisions, and includes measures to approximate the laws of the Member States in several areas. The Treaty of Lisbon has provided a stronger basis for the development of a criminal justice area, while also stipulating new powers for the European Parliament.

The main instrument for police cooperation is the European Police Office (Europol), which is a central plank of the broader European internal security architecture. Cooperation and policies are still developing, with attention focused on countering pan-EU threats and crime more effectively and, particularly for the European Parliament, doing so in compliance with fundamental rights and data protection rules.

Over the past few years, the number of migrants requesting international protection has increased exponentially. The Geneva Convention on refugees and its subsequent Protocol entitle refugees to international protection, most importantly to the right not to be returned to their home countries. However, they define refugees in a restrictive manner, thus excluding many other categories of international migrants from the rights provided therein.

The aim of the study is to generate a best estimate for the economic, financial and social costs of organised crime in and against the EU and to inform an evidence-based understanding of the associated issues. As so much uncertainty and known intra-EU and inter-crime variation exist, the study refrains from trying to create an aggregate figure for the costs of organised crime and responses to it in the EU as a whole and, instead, where possible, produces estimates for selected offenses. The study ...

This study focuses on the key issues related to the future of Eurojust in the light of the new framework established by the Treaty of Lisbon. The study evaluates the current structure and functions of Eurojust and on that basis describes the three main paths that Eurojust’s future can take: (1) gradually building on the current legislative framework; (2) invoking the new treaty base; and (3) co-existing with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The 2008 Framework Decision on the fight against organised crime provides a sophisticated framework of criminalisation on participation in a criminal organisation. However, it requires improvement both in terms of legal certainty and its scope, and in terms of the level of harmonisation it achieves. The Framework Decision is drafted in broad and vague terms which may lead to overcriminalisation. A greater degree of harmonisation is necessary not only to ensure a level playing field among Member States ...

This study examines the activities of the various bodies currently active in the field of criminal-law protection of the financial interests of the Union in the light of the Lisbon Treaty, considering how they are currently organised and how they might be reorganised in the event of the creation of a European Public Prosecutor.