The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached yesterday, 22 June 2026, with the European Parliament and the Council on the Directive updating criminal law provisions on the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Worrying trends such as the proliferation of child abuse material generated by artificial intelligence (AI) make today’s agreement all the more […]
The 2026 Justice Scoreboard highlights the importance of effective justice systems for the EU’s competitiveness and the Single Market
The European Commission has published the fourteenth edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard, an annual report that provides comparative data on the efficiency, quality and independence of the judicial systems in the EU Member States. The 2026 edition reflects an improved perception of the independence and efficiency of judicial systems. It also highlights the fundamental […]
The Parliament gives the green light to the new EU regulations against corruption
On Thursday, the Parliament adopted a new harmonised criminal law framework to prevent and combat corruption in the European Union. The Directive, provisionally agreed between Parliament and the Council in December 2025, establishes common definitions of corruption offences, including bribery, embezzlement, obstruction of justice, trading in influence, the unlawful exercise of functions, illicit enrichment linked […]
Agreement reached on the first EU-wide criminal law rules against corruption
MEPs secured new EU measures for the more effective prevention and prosecution of corruption, including reinforced cooperation and greater transparency. On Tuesday evening, Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the EU’s first ever directive harmonising criminal laws to fight corruption, strengthening efforts to prevent, prosecute and punish offences across the EU. A […]
Council gives green light to new legislation toughening penalties and extending the list of environmental offences
The Council formally adopted a directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. The law will improve the investigation and prosecution of environmental crime offences. The directive establishes EU-wide minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and penalties. It replaces the previous law which dates back to 2008. The law will only […]