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

development is in line with the realised trend towards the ‘high profit- low risk’ crime
areas.” 603
The EU’s definition of organised crime has thus the potential to cover all the conducts
mentioned by Europol and potentially others. It is indeed broad and flexible enough to
cover Mafia-like associations, business related criminal groups, small groups of pickpocketers,
large illegal drug and human trafficking networks, among many other
formations one could think of. They can also be large or small groups, national or
transnational, more or less structured, exist for shorter or longer periods of time, make
use of corruption of officials or not, use commercial structures or not, make use of
violence and intimidation or not, and so on. This suggests that, in fact, the EU’s
definition of a criminal organisation is closer to that of a criminal network than of a
criminal organisation in its more traditional sense (such as the Mafia-like model for
example). The former can or cannot take the shape of a criminal organisation but does
not always have to do so. In fact, many networks of criminals are likely to commit
crimes that are organised rather than crimes within the context of a criminal
organisation. 604
Furthermore, the EU’s approach to organised crime has strong prosecutorial benefits due
to its catch all characteristics. Indeed, organised crime has the potential to give rise to
public fears; to empower police forces with more stringent policing means (which can
often end up being used against less serious forms of criminality); 605 and to open doors
to harsher frameworks for punishment. In the European Union, this means bringing
criminal investigation under Europol’s competence, criminalising more behaviours than
before under the umbrella of organised crime, 606 whilst ensuring a more severe penal
framework to the crimes in question as the Framework Decision requires Member States
603 Ibid..
604 For details and examples on how to distinguish organised crime from crime that is organised
see for example J. Finckenauer, “Problems of Definition”, supra note 596, 76-78 or A.K. Cohen,
“The Concept of a Criminal Organisation” (1977) 17 The British Journal of Criminology 97.
605 D. Nelken, “The Globalization of Crime and Justice” (1997) 50 Current Legal Problems 251,
255. An example of this can be found, for instance, in Portugal. Law 5/2002 of 11 January on
covert means of surveillance as lawful means to obtain evidence was adopted in context of the
fight against violent and organised criminality and it aimed at allowing police forces to make use
of particular covert investigation techniques in relation to serious criminality only. However, it is
now being discussed whether evidence related to other crimes obtained under these investigation
operations could be used and under which conditions, J.F. Araújo, “Conhecimentos Fortuitos no
Âmbito do Registo de Voz e de Imagem”, Dissertação de Mestrado em Ciências Policiais,
Instituto Superior de Ciências Policias e Segurança Interna, Mimeo, Lisboa, 26 April de 2012.
606 See for examples before Greek courts E. Symeonidou-Kastanidou, “Towards a New
Definition of Organised Crime in the European Union” (2007) 15 European Journal of Crime,
Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 83, 93.
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