2024-IT-PIF (en)

Strengthening the protection of EU's financial interests via criminal law: a comprehensive study on fraud prevention, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering measures, and corporate crime
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Bando: EUAF-2024-TRAI
Call: EUAF-2024-TRAI
ERC Sector: Social Sciences and Humanities
Role of Unict: Coordinator
Responsible for Unict: Prof.ssa Anna Maria Maugeri (amaugeri@lex.unict.it)
Associated partner: Centro di diritto penale europeo
Duration of the project in months: 24
Start date: March 1, 2025
End date: February 28, 2027
Grant Agreement: n. 101193934  

A summary of “2024-IT-PIF”:
The research project aims to contribute to the consolidation of the protection of the financial interests of the European Union 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.

A comparative approach will be adopted, examining eight Member States: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Ireland; the remaining EU States will be involved during international conferences, maximizing the research results and their broader dissemination.

From a methodological standpoint, the research team will conduct a desk analysis of relevant regulatory provisions and develop an assessment of their practical application by conducting interviews with industry experts and actively engaging operators and stakeholders during specific workshops, with the ultimate goal of arriving at the formulation of best practices, reform proposals, and policy recommendations aimed at optimizing European policies on the protection of financial interests and combating economic crime.

Press release

- Project 2024-IT-PIF / kick off meeting - 19/03/2025

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.