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

matters. Indeed, the European Union adopted a wide range of framework decisions
aiming at harmonising the minimum elements of criminal offences and penalties at
national level, many of which were under the umbrella of the fight against organised
crime. 577 The range of areas involved went considerably beyond the domains referred to
in Article 29 TEU, let alone Article 31 TEU. Hence, framework decisions harmonising
elements of national criminal law were adopted in areas as diverse as illicit drug
trafficking, 578 sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, 579 terrorism, 580
fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment, 581 money laundering, 582
trafficking in human beings, 583 corruption in the private sector, 584 crime against
information system, 585 and environment, 586 among others.
Furthermore, the fashion according to which the EU legislator set the scope of minimum
harmonisation in place was all but minimal. This, it will be contended, can be perceived
in several elements, namely in the choice of wide definitions of crimes, in the widening
of criminal liability to legal persons, in the establishment of common minimum
maximum penalties, and generally on the impact those elements have on national legal
orders. Ultimately, it will be seen that the attempt to establish a minimum common
denominator resulted in the setting of a higher intensity of criminalisation namely
through more and wider criminal law across the European Union.
2. Broad definitions of criminal offences
The EU, in seeking to harmonise minimum elements constituent of crimes and penalties,
focused first and foremost on the definition of criminal offences. In this regard, ECL has
showed a tendency to adopt broad definitions of crimes hence potentially criminalising a
wider range of behaviours than before across the EU. This is clearly seen in the
approach to the harmonisation of organised crime. It was seen in previous chapters how
organised crime was often used as an umbrella concept to allow for intervention in areas
not directly mentioned in the TEU(A) and which could be related to organised crime in a
more direct or indirect way. The wide approach to organised crime was further
577 A significant majority of these measures came to replace pre-existent joint actions on the same
topics. For an overall view on these see chapter 2.
578 Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA, supra note 415.
579 Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, supra note 414.
580 Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, supra note 413.
581 Council Framework Decision 2001/413/JHA, supra note 411.
582 Council Framework Decision 2001/500/ JHA, supra note 410.
583 Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, supra note 409.
584 Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, supra note 417.
585 Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA, supra note 408.
586 Council Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA, supra note 463.
157