On Wednesday 9 June, the European Commission asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to impose a financial penalty on Luxembourg, in the form of a daily penalty payment, for failing to fully implement the Directive (2014/42/EU) on the freezing and confiscation of crime proceeds.
This Directive, which should have been implemented by October 2016, makes it easier for Member States to recover gains made by serious organised crime groups through criminal activity. It also prevents the laundering of crime proceeds and their reinvestment in legal or illegal activities.
In fixing the daily penalty payment required by the Commission (Article 260(3) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), the Court will have to take into account the gravity of the infringement, its duration and a special ‘n’ factor which takes into account the concerned Member State’s level of GDP and the number of seats it holds in the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)