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IMPACT OF STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS IN CORRUPTION CASES AFFECTING EU FINANCIAL INTERESTS |
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2) Harmonisation of EU criminal procedures.
Although each country has its specific features
and connotations that make it hard to crea-
te uniform criminal proceedings, some issues
should be more harmonised and integrated.
The long-waited introduction of the European
Public Prosecutor could create benefits in mul-
ti-country cases.
Although the expiration of limitation periods
is not causing problems across Europe, rather
only in some countries or under specific circu-
mstances, a common trend emerging from our
analysis is the average excessive length of cri-
minal proceedings. In countries where proce-
edings are too long and SOL are too short or
there is no valid list of causes of suspension and
interruption, this represents a major problem
leading to impunity. Strategies to reduce the
length of proceedings might include the alloca-
tion of more resources to the public prosecu-
tion and to the court to speed up cases, san-
ctions for delays caused by any party involved
in the proceedings, a possible de-criminalisa-
tion of offences and the promotion of alterna-
tive dispute resolution mechanisms to lighten
the caseload of courts.
As regards VAT frauds and the damage to EU
interests caused by weak or ineffective SOL
regulations, most experts agree that the EU
should intervene in relation to Member States’
substantial aspects of criminal law by exercising
pressure in order to make them remedy their
deficiencies at a legislative level, instead of in-
tervening on single, ongoing criminal cases.