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Goudappel, Flora --- "Options for the Development of European Criminal Law under the Treaty of Lisbon" [2012] ELECD 528; in Trybus, Martin; Rubini, Luca (eds), "The Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of European Law and Policy" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: The Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of European Law and Policy

Editor(s): Trybus, Martin; Rubini, Luca

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857932556

Section: Chapter 18

Section Title: Options for the Development of European Criminal Law under the Treaty of Lisbon

Author(s): Goudappel, Flora

Number of pages: 14

Extract:

18. Options for the development of
European criminal law under the
Treaty of Lisbon
Flora Goudappel

1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter will explore the options and limitations for the development of
European criminal law now that the Treaty of Lisbon has come into force.
Although this policy area (as `police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters') has already been increasingly developed under the Treaty of
Amsterdam and the Tampere and Hague Programmes, the possibilities for
a more far-reaching development have grown exponentially under the new
system of division of competences granted under the Treaty of Lisbon, in
combination with the goals set in the Stockholm Programme as a beginning
of development. First, the fact that this policy area has been brought under
the ordinary legislation procedure will mean that decision-making in the
Council will be easier while the watchful role of European Parliament has
increased as well. Second, the contents have been amended and now give
room for developments such as the establishment of minimum rules, the
creation of the European Public Prosecutor or the (limited) possibility to
harmonize some definitions of criminal offenses.
Developments may eventually lead to amendments of national legisla-
tion which the Member States traditionally regard as a national preroga-
tive. In addition, the European Parliament has shown that it takes privacy
matters very seriously in new developments concerning criminal law.1 In

1
See for instance the negative vote on the PNR (Passenger Name Records)
agreement with the United States (`MEPs fear that new ...