Search results

In its landmark judgment of 30 April 2024, the ECJ specified the requirements for the access to retained identification data on the basis of IP addresses. With this judgment, the ECJ partly deviates from its strict approach on data retention and admits law enforcement access to identity data in order to combat criminal offences of piracy in the internet.

In its judgment of 30 April 2024, the ECJ clarified under which conditions law enforcement authorities can have access to a set of traffic and location data in the context of criminal investigations.

In its judgment of 5 September 2024, the ECJ ruled that several provisions of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure and legal practices are incompatible with the rights of minors charged with a criminal offence. The Court particularly blamed the Polish police for not having guaranteed the assistance by a lawyer during the first questioning of the minor and for not having him adequately informed of his rights.

On 24 July 2024, in parallel to its 2024 Rule of Law Report (→ related link), the Commission released the results of two Eurobarometer surveys on the perception of corruption in the EU:Special Eurobarometer 548 - Citizens’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024); …

In its judgment of 29 July 2024, the ECJ upheld the EU’s system on reporting obligations for intermediaries to inform tax authorities of certain cross-border arrangements that could potentially be used for aggressive tax planning. The ECJ particularly did not consider that the underlying EU legislation is invalid.

On 15 May 2024, eight EU institutions signed an agreement that sets up an EU ethics body. The agreement is designed to foster cooperation on ethical standards for the members of the parties to the agreement and to develop a common culture of integrity and ethics for the European Union’s institutions. It is also seen as a step to avoid corruption scandals, such as Qatargate.

On 25 July 2024, the European Commission adopted the 35th Annual Report on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests and the fight against fraud in 2023 (PIF Report). The irregular amounts related to fraud cases increased to €585.8 million (+103% compared to 2022).

On 11 September 2024, the General Court (GC) ruled for the first time on the legality of procedures of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and OLAF vis-à-vis alleged irregularities committed by a former ECA member.The GC largely upheld the ECA’s decision on the …

In a report, published on 8 July 2024, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) found that the EU’s control system on cohesion spending is not working. Based on audits carried out during the 2014-2022 programming period and on information made available by the Commission, …

In its Special Report 07/2024, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) blamed that recovery of misspent EU money takes too long and deficiencies exist in some areas, such as expenditure for external action.The ECA examined how the recovery process of misspent EU funding …