EU action against organized crime has taken a further step ahead with the introduction of a framework system for the harmonization of custodial sentences and the definition of measures of a transnational character to crack down on organized crime. The text of the framework decision which will be endorsed by the next Council of ministers of justice and internal affairs defines a criminal organization as a “structured association of two or more persons, established in time, that acts in a concerted manner with the aim of committing offences punishable with a custodial sentence to derive from them, directly or indirectly, a financial advantage or other material advantages”. The EU provision which introduces for the first time at the European level the principle of the protection of and assistance to the victims of criminal organizations prescribes for the “leadership” (i.e. the bosses) of such organizations a minimum custodial sentence of ten years, and for affiliates a minimum sentence of five years, without prejudice to any exemptions or reductions in sentence for those who repent and provide information useful to the police investigations. The objective of the framework legislation is the adoption of the same measures in each member state, in such a way as to eliminate the possible advantages granted by some national penal codes and discourage the “mobility” of organized crime.
