At the ‘Justice’ Council held in Brussels on Friday 13 December, EU ministers discussed the future of European criminal law and the emerging needs in this area.
Under the chairmanship of the Hungarian Minister of Justice, Bence Tuzson, ministers examined the work in progress on model provisions for European criminal law, intended to serve as a non-binding tool for future legislation.
The ministers agreed that priority should be given to the effective application of existing instruments. Any new legislative proposals had to be consistent with the existing legal framework. Two presidency reports were presented to guide the work ahead: one on model provisions in European criminal law, the other on the broad strategic guidelines for the future of this law.
Model provisions for greater harmonisation. Discussions focused in particular on the development of non-binding model provisions to harmonise the main terms and concepts of European criminal law.
These tools, designed to facilitate a common understanding between the Member States and the EU institutions, aim to improve the effectiveness of existing legislative instruments and strengthen their practical implementation.
Organised crime. The issue of organised crime, which is transnational and increasingly complex, was central to the discussions. Ministers discussed the idea of expanding the list of “Eurocrimes” to include new offences such as hate speech and arms trafficking.
On the effectiveness of existing legal tools, the European Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath, mentioned to journalists at the end of the discussions the importance of enhanced cooperation with third countries, as well as the key role of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the European arrest warrant.
He also reiterated the need to consider the possibility of codifying the existing case law, which includes 90 judgments by the Court of Justice of the EU in order to facilitate their application.
At the press conference, Mr McGrath was asked about the possibility of reforming European instruments for combating organised crime, in particular by taking inspiration from Italian laws criminalising membership of a criminal organisation. He stressed that, although effective tools exist at Member State level, his role as Commissioner is to focus on what can be done at EU level.
He said the discussions focused on how the EU can better deal with complex cross-border crime and what additional support the EU can offer in this area. He reiterated the importance of cooperation between Member States and with third countries in the fight against increasingly transnational and complex organised crime.
Artificial Intelligence. On the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to modernise criminal justice, the Commissioner expressed the view that these tools could improve the efficiency of European judicial systems. “AI can be a lever for enhancing quality and efficiency in the justice sector”, he said, announcing a future European strategy on the use of digital technologies in civil and criminal matters. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)