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

trafficking), and especially about crime that is committed by highly organized
groups.” 158
The scarcity of data on international crime during the 1980s led Bigo to argue that many
of the concerns with criminality that emerged after 1985, did so in the absence of
significant research on whether the removal of internal borders in particular and the
single market in general would have a significant impact on levels of criminality. Bigo
further suggested that Justice and Home Affairs ministers did not want to be perceived
as anti-European at that point in time, thus they had to accept the principle of free
movement of persons. In turn, they decided to create mechanisms that could compensate
for the abolition of internal borders and for the consequent ‘security deficit’ that this
could bring. Hence, under the label of the fight against terrorism and increase in
organised crime, the ministers were actually aiming to defend against a potential wave
of illegal immigration and refugees coming into Europe. 159
Indeed, the above mentioned preliminary study carried out in 1993 by the Centre for the
Study of Public Order of the University of Leicester suggested,
“international terrorism will neither increase nor decrease as the consequence of the
open borders’ and that ‘the relaxation of border controls is unlikely to see the pattern of
organized drugs trafficking in the European Union change significantly.” 160
Benyon et. al. found that there was no relevant increase in serious or transnational
criminality and that the increasing threats of terrorism and organised crime appeared, in
the light of the data analysed, merely the official justification for adopting these new
security measures. 161 In fact, although it is not an unreasonable assumption that the
creation of the single market and the establishment of the four freedoms could have an
effect on the levels and shapes of criminality, that link was clearly uncertain at the
time. 162
158 M. Maguire, “Crime Statistics and the Construction of Crime”, in M. Maguire, R. Morgan and
R. Reiner (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (Oxford: OUP, 20012, Fifth Edition) 206,
233.
159 D. Bigo, “L’Europe de la sécurité intérieure”, in D. Bigo (ed) L’Europe des Polices et de la
Securité Interieure (Bruxelles: Editions Complexes, 1992) 17-20.
160 Benyon et al., Police Cooperation in Europe, supra note 149, 60.
161 Benyon et al., ibid., 60.
162 In fact, more recent data seems to suggest that the enlargement of spaces of free movement –
such as happened with the 2004 European Enlargement – does not necessarily lead to more
organised crime. Changes seem to be either linked to internal factors to those groups or external
factors such as “economic, social and technological developments.” Borders can have an impact
in isolated situations only “tightening of controls at certain border crossing-points and its
subsequent effects change crime opportunities.”, Europol Organised Crime Threat Assessment
49