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On 28 November 2024, the ECJ ruled on the role of the competent authorities in deciding on the "strict necessity" of processing sensitive data in accordance with Art. 10 of Directive 2016/680 - the Law Enforcement Data Protection Directive. The referral concerns Bulgarian law, which …

Directive 2005/35/EC as regards ship-source pollution and on the introduction of administrative penalties for infringements was amended by a new Directive published on 16 December 2024. The Directive updates the 2005 legal framework and incorporates into Union law international standards on illegal discharges from ships at sea. It also aims to ensure that those responsible for such discharges are subject to dissuasive, effective and proportionate sanctions.

According to a special report by the ECA, the EU has strengthened defence measures against harmful tax regimes and corporate tax avoidance, but has not closed all the gaps. The Commission and the Member States failed to monitor the implementation of adequate measures to fight the problem of tax avoidance by aggressive tax plannings.

On 10 January 2025, Council Directive (EU) 2025/50 on faster and safer relief of excess withholding taxes was published in the EU's Official Journal L, 2025/50. The new rules make withholding tax procedures in the EU more efficient, secure and simplified for investors, financial intermediaries …

On 5 December 2024, the ECJ delivered a ruling on the personal scope of application of the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/849). The underlying Latvian proceedings concerned the question of whether a company (a legal person) that provides accounting services for entities affiliated …

On 27 November 2024, the European Parliament adopted the EU 2025 budget. The European Parliament and the Council agreed on the new annual budget within the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 on 16 November 2024. Total commitments are set at €192.76 billion and …

This news item summarises the recommendations and major conclusions of the High-Level Group on access to data for effective law enforcement. It also reports on the controversies the report triggered with data protection experts and civil society organisations.

This news item summarises OLAF’s operational work in the second half of 2024 in reverse chronological order. It follows the reports on operations supported by OLAF in the first half of 2024 published in → eucrim 1/2024, 17-18.

On 1 November 2024, the German Federal Constitutional Court rejected a constitutional complaint against a criminal conviction for dealing in narcotics in a non-negligible quantity, which was based on the use of EncroChat data as evidence. The Federal Constitutional Court in essence backed the case law of the Federal Court of Justice which sees no exclusionary rule in the use of said data which were gathered by French law enforcement authorities via the use of mass surveillance technology.

This news item summarises the main priorities of the newly formed European Commission, including the responsibilities of the Commissioners responsible for justice and home affairs and anti-fraud matters.