Harmonization and Approximation Policies in the European Union -- Organized Crime Legislation: Reasons and Background for the Assessment of Harmonization and Approximation -- The Methodology -- Assessing Harmonization: The Horizontal Analysis -- Assessing Approximation: The Vertical Analysis -- Conclusions and Implications.

Just a few months after the entry into force of the EU Framework Decision on the fight against organized crime, this book provides an unprecedented analysis of the national and European legislation on organized crime. The book provides a critical examination of the European policies and legal instruments to promote the harmonization and approximation of criminal law in this field (including the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime). The current level of harmonization among EU Member States and the approximation to the standards of the new Framework Decision are discussed in detail, with the help of tables, graphs and maps. The results highlight the problems surrounding the international legal instruments and the inconsistencies of the national approaches to combating organized crime.