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

the single market and the consequent internal border removal were facilitating the
increase and modus operandi of such criminality. Consequently, organised crime
became an ‘umbrella concept’ justifying the adoption of measures ranging from
trafficking in human beings to fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment
or corruption, among many others. This was particularly so as organised crime was
referred to in political declarations and in the preambles of most legal measures adopted
(mostly joint actions and conventions) as a main rationale for the adoption of many of
these measures. Furthermore, the narrative of protection of EC interests and policies also
became stronger. Indeed, although Article K.1 did not make particular reference to
crimes affecting EC policies and interests, measures with such aim were adopted,
namely those aimed at at the fight against fraud and corruption affecting EU financial
interests. Furthermore, the CJEU and secondary legislation continued to play an
important role in increasing the protection of EC policies via national criminal law. This
chapter will draw attention to how the articulation of these two main legal and political
rationales by the EU legislator facilitated the EU’s focus on a specific type of criminality
– Euro-crime – a fluid concept which predominantly relates to modern times, largely
involving collective action, the use of some form of infrastructure and often the attempt
against institutional goods. Crimes of trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, illegal
immigration and fraud on a transnational scale are all offences that differ from rape,
murder, and robbery among many others—offences that were left within the domestic
sphere. Thus, during the Maastricht years, the EU began to lay claim to particular
discourses and ideas of criminality.
1. The Treaty of Maastricht and criminal matters: a limited framework for criminal law
in the European Union
The TEU(M) introduced a brand new dynamic into European integration in general and
into security matters in particular. It paved the way to political integration, with the
introduction of a EU citizenship, the reinforcement of the parliamentary powers and the
launch of the economic and monetary union (EMU), among other initiatives. The new
TEU(M) ventured into new domains, envisaging new objectives and more nuanced
frameworks for decision-making. For that, it created a European Union divided into
three distinct legal and institutional groups –the so-called “three pillars”. The first pillar
comprised the European Communities; the second, Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP); and the third, Justice and home affairs, namely police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters and matters of immigration, asylum, visas and judicial
cooperation in civil matters (JHA). The inclusion of the latter domain in the Treaties
established the EU as an actor in criminal matters and allowed for the formalisation and
69