The book is the result of the conference "Substantive Criminal Law of the European Union" organised by the Criminal Law Department of Maastricht University on 20 and 21 January 2011, with the generous support of the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Academie van Wetenschappen, the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of Maastricht University and the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HIIL). -- "Whilst the focus of the European Union in criminal law over the last decades has predominantly been the implementation of the principle of mutual recognition, the EU also further developed its influence on substantive criminal law. It has emerged that the smooth operation of mutual recognition is facilitated by harmonisation of substantive law. Why is a general part of European criminal law necessary? When a general part comes into being how is this influenced by Union law and the law of the Member States? These questions are being dealt with in the light of the current legal situation and the future developments of the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. This book highlights the current main themes of substantive criminal law and may contribute to a more coherent and consistent European Criminal Law"--Provided by publisher.