The European Union Agency for Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, Eurojust, published, on Monday 6 October, its first report on the implementation of the Regulation on mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders – a mechanism for mutual recognition of orders freezing and confiscating criminal assets by the Member States (see EUROPE 12041/22).
Almost five years after its entry into force in December 2020, Eurojust notes that the regulation has been widely used and has led to an improvement in cross-border cooperation.
However, “national practices and legal traditions have prevailed over the Regulation’s principle of direct applicability”, notes the report.
Although European law takes precedence, it has nevertheless been confronted with the reality of procedures that are still linked to national practices, which may have slowed down the enforcement of decisions and limited the predictability of results.
Differences in interpretation of concepts such as the consequences of “criminal proceedings” or the freezing of companies and undertakings show that the lack of harmonisation between Member States remains a difficulty.
In addition, the report notes that the freezing and confiscation certificates could be improved, as they are too often incomplete or vaguely drafted.
All these shortcomings lead to enforcement being refused or delayed, even though speed is needed to prevent assets from disappearing before they are confiscated.
To fix this, Eurojust recommends precise and explicit forms on the link between the offence and the property targeted.
On the subject of restitution to victims, Eurojust notes, once again, that the advances introduced by the Regulation come up against restrictive national rules, extended deadlines and conflicting requests from victims in different jurisdictions. Consequently, additional European guidelines are essential to ensure that victims receive fair compensation.
Eurojust therefore proposes to implement prior consultations between the issuing and executing States, to get involved earlier to encourage communication between them and to resolve blockages, and to anticipate storage costs and the sale of goods. The agency also calls for improved cooperation between “financial intelligence units, prosecutors and private-sector actors”.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/iw0 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)