Project 2024-IT-PIF (GA no. 101193934)
The European Union faces ongoing challenges in safeguarding its financial interests. The research project 2024-IT-PIF is aimed to conduct a thorough examination of key issues related to such challenges. Its objectives can be classified into four main areas:
(a) Assessing the implementation of EU legal instruments aimed at the protection of the Union’s financial interests (notably the PFI Directive and Regulation 1995/2988) in the legislations of some selected MSs (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Ireland). Hereunto, the role of the EPPO in prosecuting PFI crimes will be analysed, along with the new EU Directive 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation and its implementation in the comparative panorama as a tool to protect the EU financial interests;
(b) Assessing the implementation of EU legal instruments against corruption in the legislations of some selected MSs, and in particular analysing the new proposal of Directive (COM/2023/234);
(c) Assessing the implementation of EU legal instruments against money laundering in the legislations and in the praxis of some selected MSs;
(d) Evaluating the legal frameworks governing corporate liability for fraud, corruption and money laundering in the analysed MSs.
Additionally, the instrument of confiscation in the different fields will be examined, in consideration of the new Directive and the Regulation on mutual recognition 2018/1805.
For each research objective, after analysis of EU legislation, the applied methodology will be twofold: on the one hand, the research will be conducted from a comparative (both legislative and judicial) perspective; on the other hand, not only will attention be paid to the perspective of the law in the books, but also the law in action, through the analysis of the case law, interviews to practitioners and their involvement in the workshops. The aim of the research will be to identify and to share best practices, to solve legal issues, to elaborate reform proposals and evidence-based policy recommendations.