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authorities, covering the recognition and execution of a range of judgements
and decisions, e.g., arrest warrants, investigation and supervision orders, prison
sentences and financial penalties. Ihis progress is facilitated by the progressive
but much-needed harmonisation of certain aspects of national substantive
criminal and procedural laws, including minimum standards to protect the
rights of suspects and victims, and it is enforced through the forward-looking
case law of the CJEU. The Union’s efforts to establish a common area of justice
(AFSJ) are thus visible, both in the progress of judicial cooperation and in the
protection of the rights of persons involved in justice-related issues, these areas of
Union law equally benefiting from the application of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights. Going forward, however, significant challenges remain in making this
existing acquis work efficiently throughout the Union, at the heart of which is
ensuring effective implementation of the adopted legal instruments in all Member
States. Besides offering funding to stimulate coordination and helping national
authorities to organise judicial training, the European Commission should not shy
away, ultimately, from deploying the tools it has at its disposal, as the guardian
of the Treaties.*
As the world becomes more fractured and unsettled, the Union’s core task
remains to protect and further Europe’s achievements, including its open
democratic societies and liberal economies, while keeping terrorism and cross¬
border organised crime effectively under control. Judging by the relevant indicators,
it seems that the terrorist threat in the Union will remain high and new attempts
to carry out attacks likely. While the number of fatalities has decreased since
2015 (from 151 to 62 in 2017), the number of jihadist-inspired attacks (33) in 2017
more than doubled, with the number of arrests in relation to jihadist terrorist
activities reaching high levels (705 in 2017). Similarly, organised crime remains
a challenge for the authorities: Europol’s current Serious and Organised Crime
Threat Assessment (SOCTA 2017) records more than 5000 organised crime groups
(OCGs) operating on an international level and currently under investigation in
the EU. Overall, this number highlights the substantial scope and potential impact
of serious and organised crime on the EU. More than one third of these groups
active in the EU are involved in the production, trafficking, or distribution of
illicit drugs. Other major criminal activities for organised crime groups in the
EU include organised property crime, migrant smuggling, trafficking in human
beings, and excise fraud. 45% of the groups mentioned in the SOCTA 2017 are
involved in more than one criminal activity. It is estimated that the economic
loss due to organised crime and corruption remains high in the Union, between
* Laurent Pech — Kim Lane Scheppele, Illiberalism Within: Rule of Law Blacksliding in the
EU, Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies 19 (2017), 3-47.
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