Anti-Fraud by Means of EU Criminal Law (Directive)

The Commission wishes to combat offences that have a detrimental effect on the EU budget by harmonising provisions on penalties. To this end, it proposes a harmonisation of the relevant offences and prescription periods for prosecutions as well as minimum sanctions depending on the severity of the offence.

cepPolicyBrief

Harmonising the relevant criminal offences and sanctions increases legal certainty and facilitates prosecution. It is to be welcomed that dishonest conduct of tenderers during public procurement procedures is subjected to punishment. In order to preclude the possibility of double jeopardy, which would infringe EU law, the relationship between the Directive and other potential sanctions should be stated more precisely.