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On 22 July 2021, OLAF reported on a successful strike against a criminal network that illegally produced and sold cigarettes. The operation dubbed “Alecrín” mainly involved Spanish and Portuguese law enforcement authorities and already started in 2019. Targeted enforcement activities were carried out between May …

In a study for the EP’s LIBE Committee, Niovi Vavoula and Valsamis Mitsilegas from Queen Mary University of London assessed the Commission’s proposal on strengthening Europol’s mandate (→ eucrim 4/2020, 279). The study (published in May 2021) provides the EP with background information …

As a result of one of the largest operations against encrypted criminal activities at the beginning of June 2021, 800 suspects were arrested and over $48 million in various worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies seized. Operation “TF Greenlight/Trojan Shield” was conducted by the US Federal …

This news items summarises the main recent developments regarding the rule of law in EU countries other than Poland and Hungary.

A study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee recommended that the EU takes a legislative initiative with a view to stemming the flow of litigation which is intended to suppress public participation in matters of public interest, so that the growing phenomenon of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) can be curbed.

In the framework of a reference for a preliminary ruling by a Slovak court, the CJEU has to deal with the question whether the EU-wide ne bis in idem principle precludes the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) when an amnesty had been granted. …

The European Parliament and the Council adopted the Regulation addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online. It aims to curb the dissemination of contents by terrorists who intend to spread their messages, radicalise and recruit followers, and facilitate and direct terrorist activities. Criticism on this piece of legislation continue in the public debate.

The EU’s response to money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) is fragmented at the institutional level and poorly coordinated if it came to actions to prevent ML/TF and to follow-up identified risks. The EU oversight framework is insufficient to ensure a level playing field. These are the overall conclusions of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in its Special Report 13/2021.

The European Parliament and the Council established the Union Anti-Fraud Programme for the duration of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027. The underlying Regulation (EU) 2021/785 was published in the Official Journal L 172 of 17 May 2021. The Programme succeeds the Hercule III Programme that ran until 2020.

In a resolution, adopted on 20 May 2021, the European Parliament plead for revamping the EU rules on environmental liability. This should include a reform of the 2008 Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. Considering low detection, investigation and conviction rates for environmental crimes, MEPs also call for an extension of the EPPO's mandate to cover environmental offences.