This paper claims that there is a compelling justification for EU action in criminal law to protect European public goods and other key transnational interests.
For a long time, criminal law was not considered an area falling in the European integration project. However, nowadays EU has a broad competence in this field, including harmonization of domestic criminal legislation and engagement in enforcement through Europol, Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. While such powers are vital for fighting cross-border crime, it should not be forgotten that application of criminal law powers has significant consequences for individuals. In addition, application of EU’s legislative competences in the area of criminal law might not be well-received by the Member States due to the resulting limitations to the national sovereignty. Consequently, whether EU should legislate in the field of criminal law is not clear.
Paper abstract:
“EU policy-making in criminal law is a matter of significant public concern for EU citizens and the Member States. The exercise of EU public powers in the fields of criminal law and law enforcement have tangible and adverse consequences for the liberties and well-being of individuals. Furthermore, EU cooperation in the area of criminal law touches upon core functions of statehood including ‘core state powers’ such as the safeguarding of internal security and law enforcement. This raises several questions regarding the rationale underpinning EU criminal policy and its legitimacy within the context of a multi-level polity. This article sketches out a normative argument for legitimate justifications for some particular areas of EU criminal law on the basis of the transnational criterion enshrined in the subsidiarity principle. The article claims that there is a compelling justification for EU action in criminal law to protect European public goods and other key transnational interests.”
Speaker: Jacob Öberg, Professor in European Union Law at University of Southern Denmark
Discussant: Annika Suominen, Associate Professor in Criminal Law, Stockholm University
Chair/Moderator: Björn Lundqvist, Professor of European Law with a focus of competition law, Head of EU Law
Dr Jacob Oberg is a Full Professor of European Union Law at the Law Department at the University of Southern Denmark, Associate Professor in EU Law at Örebro University and a Visiting Fellow at the Amsterdam Centre of European Law and Governance. He previously held positions as Associate Professor in EU law at Örebro University (where he acted as Deputy Head of Department) and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in law at Lund University. Jacob Öberg earned his PhD in European Law from the European University Institute in Florence (2014). His research interests lie primarily in EU constitutional law and EU criminal law, including; (1) multidisciplinary and contextual perspectives on EU law, (2) theories of EU integration (3) the federal dimension of EU law, and (4) the Union’s criminal policy and its development under the Lisbon Treaty. He has published widely in these areas in journals such as European Law Journal, European Law Review, European Constitutional Law Review, Yearbook of European Law amd Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law . He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Law Journal and a member of the Steering Group of the Swedish Network of European Legal Studies."
Location: Stockholm University, Universitetsvägen 10, C building, 9th floor, IFIM Library.
Coffee and sandwiches will be served to registered participants. Please register latest on May 19th.
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