2024-IT-PIF: Strengthening the protection of EU's financial interests via criminal law

The research project aims to contribute to the consolidation of the protection of the EU financial interests through a systematic analysis of the legislation on fraud, corruption, money laundering, and liability of legal persons.

Since the uneven implementation of EU regulatory tools creates different levels of protection for EU financial interests, putting the Union's budget and the credibility of its institutions at risk, the investigation aims to assess the effectiveness and level of implementation of legal instruments such as Directive n. 2017/1371 (PIF Directive), Regulation n. 1995/2988, Directive 2024/1260 on recovery and confiscation of assets, the new proposed Directive on corruption (COM/2023/234), and the provisions recently approved by the European Parliament on anti-money laundering. Additionally, the scientific inquiry will focus on the activities of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in prosecuting PIF crimes.

In particular the project consists of the following main steps:

1) Assessment of EU Legal Instruments for Protecting Financial Interests. Focus on Selected Member States and EPPO Material Competence (March 2025 – August 2025);

2) Evaluation of EU Legal Tools to Combat Corruption involving harm to the EU financial interests, including the Proposed Directive COM/2023/234 (September 2025 – February 2026);

3) Anti-Money Laundering and the Protection of EU Financial Interests: An Analysis of AML Measures at EU and National Levels (March 2026 – August 2026);

4) Evaluation of Corporate Liability Frameworks: Fraud, Corruption, and Money Laundering Across Selected Member States and the need to protect EU financial interests (September 2026 – February 2027);

5) Mutual learning, Policy Recommendations and Dissemination of outputs (August 2025 – February 2027).