Investigating European Fraud In The Eu Member States

This book offers a detailed overview of the rules regarding criminal investigations into financial-economic criminality in the EU's main legal systems. These rules have become fundamental to the effective protection of the Union's financial interests. It undertakes a comparative study of six national legislatures (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, the UK) which serve as paradigms of the different judicial systems existing in the Union, in order to offer a complete overview of the different approaches to financial-economic investigation in the EU. The work is further enriched with cross–sectional essays that deal with the more general issues, such as data-protection and the future of investigations in the view of the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (or EPPO). This provides a wider perspective on the themes considered. The book also examines trans-national issues, providing essential context to the EU's legislative instruments intended to protect the financial interests of the Union.

This research report aims at filling the knowledge gap concerning organized business crime by highlighting one specific phenomenon, that of EU cross-border VAT fraud. It intends to provide insight into: the effectiveness of the present VAT control system; the vulnerability of legitimate trade to criminal inroads; and, the development of organized crime in this area.

And the future discussions on the establishment of the EPPO, as well as gives legal practitioners an overview of the relevant legal issues related to OLAF investigations.

OLAF (the European Anti-Fraud Office) was established by the Commission in 1999, following the collapse of its predecessor UCLAF, and its role is to protect the financial interests of the EU and to fight fraud and corruption within the EU's institutions or within individual EU member states. Its efficiency and effectiveness are currently under review, and the Commission has brought forward a proposal designed to improve OLAF's operational efficiency, improve information flows and protect the rights of individuals under investigation. The Committee's report judges that this proposal is premature and unlikely to enhance OLAF's accountability or independence. It also notes that the future of OLAF has become entwined with the debate over the post of European Public Prosecutor, and that the Commission should not allow this to distract its focus from examining how OLAF can be made more effective in the fight against fraud.

The study depicts the state of investigative journalism in the 27 EU member states, with a focus on Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, UK and a special focus on the interaction between European institutions and investigative journalists. It illustrates conditions promoting or impeding good investigative journalism in general, and in particular for reporting on fraud with EU funds and revenues. It recommends: a swift implementation of workable freedom of information laws across the EU, comprehensiveness of data provided by EU bodies and member states on their spending, targeted training for journalists, promotion of investigative centres and more cooperation between journalists and officials at EU and national levels, this in view of advanced transparency and helping citizens to understand the added value of EU spending -- EU Bookshop.

The fight against corruption emerged as one of the most significant issues during the 2004 enlargement of the EU and gained even more importance with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. In order to prepare candidate countries for membership, the EU found it necessary to create new institutions and mechanisms to address corruption. Patrycja Szarek-Mason traces the development of the EU anti-corruption framework, showing how recent enlargements transformed EU policy and highlighting inequities between the treatment of candidate countries and existing Member States. The experience gained during the 2004 enlargement led to a more robust anti-corruption stance during the accession of Bulgaria and Romania and will have implications for future enlargements of the EU. However, the framework can still be strengthened to address corruption adequately and promote higher standards among Member States, especially through greater use of 'soft law' in the form of mutually agreed, non-legally binding policy recommendations.

In 2013 the European Commission launched its legislative proposal to create a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The proposal provoked fierce debates, politically as well as on the academic level. Many national parliaments opposed and submitted formally their grievances to the Commission. Negotiations on the proposal between Member States are still ongoing. The T.M.C. Asser Instituut held the first international conference on this unprecedented proposal. This book reflects the main results of that conference. It provides a concise background of and reasoning for the introduction of this new EU body entrusted with far reaching judicial powers disclosing important legal and policy implications. Within its hitherto limited scope the existing system of judicial cooperation between EU Member States will change fundamentally, directly affecting the functioning of national courts and public prosecutions offices. How will this evolve? This book will help answering fundamental questions involved.