Changes Coming From Europe Impacting German Criminal Law

The European Council has recently adopted the "directive on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures" (2024/1226). The directive is an example of the increasing Europeanisation of criminal law in the EU. It introduces minimum rules that will apply Union-wide to the criminal prosecution of violations of sanctions imposed by the EU and entered into force on 20 May 2024. Member State lawmakers now have twelve months to transpose it into national law.

A few weeks earlier, the "directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law" had already been adopted. In addition, the European Commission has proposed a "directive on combating corruption". At the heart of all three pieces of legislation is the effort to harmonise definitions of criminal offences and criminal penalties in Member States.