Cross-border crime inroads on integrity in Europe

Europe is not a quiet province, certainly not in terms of the prevalence of cross-border crime and corruption. As a matter of fact, there is a constant pressure on the integrity of its institutions, whether it concerns the Member States of the European Union or the countries outside this ‘family’, but applying for this coveted membership. This pressure does not only come from the ‘outside’: within the European Union there are also continuous criminal inroads being made on its integrity. This is not a new phenomenon. However, the intensification of cross-border mobility as well as recent complex legislation concerning criminal liability, also cross-border, e.g. for corruption, have changed the landscape and widened the risks of such criminal inroads.

From trading across the Finnish-Russian border to new candidate countries in Southeast Europe, there are new threats looming. The Balkan countries, standing on the threshold of Europe are still rife with corruption. Within the European Union there are serious doubts about the solidity and efficiency of the institutions which are supposed to counter the threat of ‘organised crime’, corruption or other menaces against the integrity of the financial and economic system and its other interests.

In this tenth volume of the Cross-border Crime Colloquium series these questions have been addressed by twenty four expert European scholars. Their recent or on-going research projects and studies are presented within 16 chapters. This volume provides a number of well-reasoned answers while making the reader aware how many questions still have to be addressed in this field.