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The year 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the European Judicial Network (EJN) in criminal matters. The EJN was set up in 1998 by the Council of the EU with the aim of assisting judicial practitioners in combating cross-border crime. Since then, …

After the end of its Presidencey of the Council of the EU, Sweden informed about its achievements. The Swedish Presidency maintained continuous dialogue on the consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine and finalise agreements on several legislative dossiers.

Dear Readers, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to help us in many ways. One of the promising fields in which AI can be employed is in the fight against crime, as is spotlighted by a number of contributions in this issue, e.g. on AI’s impact on anti-money-laundering regimes or on the employment of AI to prevent cross-border human trafficking. AI also shows its immense potential when applied in the field of forensic analysis, where robots equipped with advanced imaging and analysis capabilities can assist. They are not only capable of processing evidence, collecting fingerprints, analysing DNA samples, and performing…

In a resolution adopted on 12 July 2023, the European Parliament (EP) reiterated its call on the Council to approve Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area. MEPs regret that the Council rejected the countries’ accession in a decision of 8 December 2022 …

The first preliminary ruling request concerning the EPPO Regulation raises several interesting questions regarding the interpretation of its Art. 31 on cross-border investigations. Advocate General Ćapeta presented her Opinion and proposals to the Court of Justice of the European Union on 22 June 2023. Her …

Der diesjährige Fokus des EU-Strafrechtstages ist „die Anwaltschaft vor Gericht“. Weitere aktuelle Themen des diesjährigen EU-Strafrechtstages werden Updates zu Encrochat (derzeit anhängige Vorlage beim EuGH), der EuStA (erste Erfahrungen der Verteidigung), Verteidigungsansätze bei der Europäischen Ermittlungsanordnung und die Empfehlungen der Kommission zu Haftbedingungen.

Following the entry into force of Directive 2023/977 on the exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities of Member States (→ eucrim Spotlight of 12 July 2023), civil liberties organisation Statewatch voiced criticism over the new legislation. The NGO pointed out that “Europol's …

On 15 February 2023, the ECJ delivered a judgment on the individualisation of the obligation to state reasons for a judicial authorisation of telephone surveillance measures. It was issued in relation to the Bulgarian court practice of using a pre-drafted general text template to justify a decision on telephone interception. According to the ECJ, this practice is in line with the Directive on privacy and electronic communications under certain conditions.

On 4 April 2023, OLAF presented the results of its operations against tobacco smuggling in 2022. International operations involving OLAF during 2022 led to the seizure of 531 million contraband cigarettes. The majority had been illegally produced within the EU.