Judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the European Union: between disintegration and the challenge of federalism

Abstract

The author firstly recognizes the existence of the current crisis – similar to the crisis in post-war Europe – to elaborate on the significant path that criminal judicial cooperation in the European Union undertook, sustained by the evolution of political integration. Today the European Union is at a crucial stage in regards to the construction of a full criminal jurisdiction, particularly regarding the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office, as parameterized by the Lisbon Treaty. This is likely to emerge as a "federal" agency, with a concentrated and uniform action throughout the territory of the European Union, as the natural area of its territorial jurisdiction.