Editorial introduction
Article Type: Guest editorial From: Journal of Financial Crime, Volume 17, Issue 1
This special issue of the Journal of Financial Crime (JFC)is dedicated to European Union (EU) fraud. The papers are broadly arranged around three themes: EU enlargement, enforcement issues and re-evaluating the threat posed by EU fraud. Section I leads of with a challenging paper on Turkey in which Alan Doig argues that the right questions have to be asked during the accession procedure. Petrus C. van Duyne, Elena Stocco, Vanja Bajovic, Miroslava Milenovic and Elizabeta E. Lojpur in a working paper describe an “uphill”pre-accession situation in Serbia. Norel Neagu, who has first hand experience of anti-fraud enforcement in Romania explores how legislation against EU fraud was implemented in the process of Romania's accession to the EU and how it has been interpreted in case law – laying the ground for an understanding of the reasons for the modest results achieved so far. These papers raise issues concerning the enlargement process. Should more emphasis be placed, during the accession process, on candidate countries' ability to look after EU tax payers' money? This would mean of course looking more closely at wider issues. No doubt accession in relation to Serbia and Turkey would be conducted in the light of experience.
In Section II, on enforcement issues, Brendan Quirke deplores the high degree of fragmentation, which makes enforcement difficult and also gives examples of experiences in the Czech Republic and in Romania. Simone White examines various“blockages” in investigation of EU fraud, variously affecting investigatory effectiveness and the rights of the defence, placing practical problems in legal context. This is followed by an examination by Constantin Stefanou of the use of EU-wide databases as a means of combating organised crime. Michael Levi raises general issues of sentencing for fraud: we need to reflect carefully on sentencing in relation to EU fraud. In Western Europe,anti-fraud work has traditionally been somewhat “light touch” and sentences rarely high, leading for some to call for higher sentences for this and other aspects of “white collar crime”. Yet, as Norel Neagu points on the aforementioned paper on Romania, high penalties provided in the law may inhibit enforcement, especially when some of the miscreants are influential and/or well equipped to defend themselves against prosecution.
In Section III, re-evaluating threats and responses, Helen Xanthaki reflects on what is EU fraud and whether OLAF can really combat it. Bill Tupman's on watching for small-time offenders tackles the challenges involved in profiling and evaluating the threat to the European community budget from fraud and allied offences. In a wide-ranging and spirited concluding paper, Tricia Howse reflects on many of the above themes, highlighting and contextualising certain points, whilst drawing upon her experience in cooperation at UK and international levels. Her paper extends her verbal intervention at the panel on EU fraud, British Society of Criminology Conference 2009, Cardiff, where some but not all these papers were presented.
This special issue of JFC rounds-off with Michael Levi's review of D. Chaikin's and J. Sharman's book on Corruption and Money Laundering. We hope that the papers will deepen interest in this cross-cutting topic, will be of interest to anti-fraud practitioners, will stimulate policy debate and will highlight possible research themes.
Thanks go to Barry Rider and to Avrom Sherr for their unswerving support,also to Nicholas Dorn and various anonymous EC colleagues for commentaries on and questions about some of the papers in draft.
Simone WhiteGuest Editor
