Recital 28

DIRECTIVE (EU) 2026/1021 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2026 on combatting corruption, replacing Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA and the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council · European Union

(28) While there is no obligation to increase sentences, Member States should ensure that the judge or the court is able to take into account the aggravating circumstances set out in this Directive, as implemented in national law, when sentencing offenders. It remains within the discretion of the judge or the court to determine whether to increase the sentence due to the specific aggravating circumstances, taking into account the specific circumstances in each individual case. Member States should not be obliged to provide for aggravating circumstances where national law provides for the criminal offences defined in Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA (12) to be punishable as separate criminal offences and this could lead to more severe penalties.

← Recital 27 · All articles · Recital 29 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-09 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.