The evolution of European Union criminal law (1957-2012)

This was seen first seen at a political level as several action plans, which laid down
guidelines for intervention, and mentioned further areas for intervention than those
mentioned in the TEU(A). This was the case of the Vienna Action Plan, 402 which placed
a great emphasis on police cooperation, calling for the strengthening of Europol’s role in
relation to the counterfeiting of the Euro, illegal immigrant networks and terrorism, and
to judicial cooperation, namely regarding money laundering as well as the harmonisation
of criminal law.
Similarly, the Tampere Conclusions, 403 adopted in 1999, were a benchmark during the
Amsterdam years. The document separately endorsed objectives in the domains of
freedom, security, justice and external policy. In the specific context of the EU-wide
fight against crime, Tampere placed the focus on Euro-offences setting as specific
objectives: the improvement in prevention and cooperation between judicial and police
authorities, particularly in the domains of money laundering, and it called for action
against trafficking in drugs, human trafficking, terrorism, serious organised crime, high
tech crime, environmental crime, financial crime and victims’ rights. 404 Money
laundering, high tech crime, environmental crime and financial crime were all domains
outside the narrow scope of Amsterdam. Furthermore, Tampere endorsed the principle
of mutual recognition as the cornerstone for cooperation in judicial criminal matters
despite the fact that this principle had no presence in the TEU(A).
Likewise, the Hague programme in 2005, continued the work and focus of the Tampere
Conclusions further developing the AFSJ and called for the deepening of cooperation
and action in ECL matters, particularly in the domains of cross-border organised crime,
serious crime, drugs, corruption and terrorism. 405 Finally, the Stockholm programme,
which lays down the political priorities for the period 2010-2014, focuses its attention
from a criminal law point of view on specific criminality such as terrorism, organised
crime, trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography, cyber-crime, economic crime, corruption and drugs. 406 The political
mandate for the EU to legislate in criminal law related matters was being shaped by
402 Action Plan of the Council and the Commission on how best to implement the provisions of
the Treaty of Amsterdam in the area of freedom, security and justice of 3 December 1998, OJ C
19/1 [1999].
403 Tampere European Council, supra note 54.
404 See para 6, 40, 43, 44, 46 and 48 of the Tampere Conclusions, ibid..
405 Council of the European Union, The Hague Programme: strengthening freedom, security and
justice in the European Union, OJ C 53/1 [2005], see in particular sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.7, 2.8 or
3.3.2.
406 Council of the European Union, The Stockholm Programme – An open and secure Europe
serving and protecting the citizens, OJ C 115/1 [2010], see in particular sections 4.1 and 4.4..
114