The Criminal Protection of the Financial Interests of the European Union in the Romanian Legislation

AuthorCamelia Morareanu - Raluca Diaconu Simonescu
PositionProsecutor, The Court of Appeal Pitesti - Judge-The Court of Appeal Pitesti
Pages64-70
European Integration - Realities and Perspectives
2012
64
The Criminal Protection of the Financial
Interests of the European Union in the Romanian Legislation
Camelia erban Morreanu
1
, Raluca Diaconu imonescu
2
Abstract: The idea of criminal protection of the financial interests of the European Communities appeared as
a result of allotting their own funds by means of the first project of amending the Treaty of August 6
th
1976
which modified the Treaties regarding the establishment of the European Communities. Nowadays, one of the
major problems that the European Union is facing is the frauds committed to the detri ment of the Union
budget. The off ences bilking the Union budget are extremely dangerous, not only by the amount of the
damage caused, b ut also by the high degree of organizing such offences. Romania has made s ignificant
efforts to align its legislation in this matter to the community legislation, such efforts resulting in the
introduction of a new section in Law no. 78/2000 r egarding prevention, discovery and sanction of corruption
offences – section named “Offences affecting the financial interests of the European Communities”. This
work will analyze those off ences provided in La w no. 78/2000, committed against the financial interests of
the European Communities, such analyze including also the relevant judicial training in the matter.
Keywords: European Union; offenses; financial interests
1. Introduction
Preventing and sanctioning offences affecting the financial interests of the European bodies is a main
concern which has been materialized in many acts at the level of European institutions
3
. Such concern
was caused both by the need to improve the criminal legislation regarding corruption prevention and
control, and by the proliferation of corruption offences - a phenomenon manifested in Romania, too.
The most important legal measure adopted by our country was adding new articles to Law no. 78/2000
(the framework law regarding corruption sanctioning in Romania
4
), aiming at new incriminations, on
the one hand, and at extending the area of the active subject of corruption offences to some categories
of persons provided in the Criminal convention regarding corruption, in the Convention regarding the
protection of the financial interests of the European Communities
5
and in its additional protocols. This
significant and original addition for the Romanian legislation was made by means of Law no.
161/2003
6
by introducing section 4
1
named „Offences against the financial interests of the European
1
Prosecutor, The Court of Appeal Piteti, Corresponding author: fabianmorareanu@yahoo.com.
2
Judge – The Court of Appeal Piteti, e-mail: fabianmorareanu@yahoo.com.
3
The criminal convention regarding corruption, of the European Council, ratified by Romania by Law no. 27/2002 or the
Convention regarding the protection of the financial inter ests of the European Communities and its additional protocols,
drawn up based on article K.3 from the Treaty of the European Union.
4
Law 78/2000 published in Official Journal no. 219/18 May 2000, but the text of the initial document suf fered subsequently
a series of modifications and additions. They appeared by Government ordinance no. 83/2000, approved with modifications
by Law no. 334/2001, the Emergency Government Ordinance no. 43/2002, approved with modifications by Law no.
503/2002, with further modifications, Law no. 161/2003, with further modifications, Law no. 521/2004, the Emergency
Government Ordinance no. 124/2005, the Emergency Government Ordinance no. 50/2006, Law no. 69/2007.
5
According to art. 46 it introduced in TUE by the Treaty of Lisbon “The union has legal status” replacing the European
Communities; see (Vîlcu, 2010, p. 119)
6
Law no. 16 1/2003 regarding some measures to ensure the transparency in exerting public dignities, public positions and i n
the business environment, preventing and sanctioning corruption, published in Official Journal no. 279 of 21 April 2003.

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