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PÉTER CSONKA 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 crossborder 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. «192 +
