Confidentiality, Privileges and Secrecy between Administrative and Criminal Enforcement

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PRIVILEGED Conference

Abstract

The PRIVILEGED final conference brings together leading scholars, EU officials, and practitioners to explore one of the most pressing issues in European and cross-border administrative and criminal enforcement: the balance between confidentiality, secrecy, and professional privileges on the one hand, and effective investigations on the other. Hosted at the University of Luxembourg, this two-day event will present the key findings of the PRIVILEGED research project, which examines how professional privileges shape both administrative and criminal proceedings across EU Member States.Against this background, the conference will address critical questions: how should confidentiality be balanced with transparency? How do different branches of law – criminal, banking, financial, competition, and tax – approach the tension between enforcement powers, confidentiality, and procedural rights? Do professional privilege regimes operate consistently across these fields, or do they create fragmentation that affects the effectiveness of investigations? And ultimately, is harmonization at the EU level needed in this field – and what could it look like?

Language

English.

This is a free event. Registration is mandatory.

Programme

Monday, 18 May 2026

• 13.00

  Welcome lunch

• 14.00 – 14.10

  Welcome address

  • Katalin Ligeti, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Professor of European and International Criminal Law, University of Luxembourg

• 14.10 – 15.00

  Introduction to the PRIVILEGED project

  Chair: Katalin Ligeti, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Professor of European and International Criminal Law, University of Luxembourg

  • Introductory remarks: The PRIVILEGED Project, Silvia Allegrezza, Professor of Criminal Law, Principal Investigator of PRIVILEGED, University of Luxembourg
  • Insights from the PRIVILEGED comparative report and the draft Directive, Lorenzo Bernardini, Postdoctoral Researcher in Criminal Law, University of Luxembourg
  • Legal Professional Privileges between the CJEU and the ECtHR, Lorena Bachmaier Winter, Professor of Procedural Law, Complutense University of Madrid

• 15.00 – 16.30

  Panel 1: Regards croisés on transparency and confidentiality: The European Union Legal Order (part I)

  Chair: Takis Tridimas, Director of Luxembourg Centre for European Law, University of Luxembourg

  Discussants:

  • Confidentiality and secrecy in the CJEU’s case-law, Court of Justice, CJEU (to be confirmed)
  • Transparency and democracy within the EU legal order, Joana Mendes, Professor of European Public Law, LCEL, University of Luxembourg
  • Confidentiality in the EU legal order, Jacob Öberg, Professor of EU Law, University of Southern Denmark
  • Confidentiality, secrecy and transparency in EU Tax Law, Katerina Pantazatou, Professor of Tax Law, University of Luxembourg
  • Confidentiality and secrecy in anti-fraud investigation (OLAF), Salla Saastamoinen, Acting DG and Deputy DG, OLAF

• 16.30 – 17.00

  Coffee break

• 17.00 – 18.30

  Panel 2: Regards croisés on transparency and confidentiality: Focus on criminal justice

  Chair: Stefan Braum, Professor of Criminal law, University of Luxembourg (to be confirmed)

  Discussants:

  • Secrecy and criminal justice, Michele Panzavolta, Professor of Criminal Law, KU Leuven
  • Business secrecy and criminal justice, Carsten Momsen, Professor of Criminal Law, Freie University Berlin
  • Investigative secrecy, Sławomir Steinborn, Professor of Criminal Procedure, University of Gdańsk
  • Non-legal Professional privileges, Anna Mosna, Assistant Professor of Criminal Law, Leiden University
  • Legal Professional Privilege, Holger Matt, Lawyer, Honorary Professor, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main

• 19.00

  Conference dinner

Tuesday, 19 May 2026

• 09.00 – 11.00

  Panel 3: Regards croisés on transparency and confidentiality: : The European Union Legal Order (part II)

  Chair: Silvia Allegrezza, Professor of Criminal Law, Principal Investigator of PRIVILEGED, University of Luxembourg

  Discussants:

  • Confidentiality and monetary policy within the ECB, Chiara Zilioli, Director General, Legal Services, European Central Bank
  • Confidentiality within the SSM: vertical dimension, Stefano Montemaggi, Legal Service, Bank of Italy
  • Confidentiality, secrecy and transparency in EU financial supervision, Nikolai Badenhoop, Head of Junior Research Group, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE
  • Confidentiality and secrecy in AML-CTF, Janneke De Smet-Dierckx, Strategic Programme Lead, Anti-Money Laundering Authority of the European Union (AMLA)
  • Banking secrecy: a transversal analysis, Olivier Voordeckers, University of Luxembourg

• 11.00 – 11.30

  Coffee break

• 11.30 – 13.00

  Panel 4 – Confidentiality, secrecy and privileges: the enforcement approach

  Chair: Carsten Momsen, Professor of Criminal Law, Freie University Berlin

  Discussants:

  • Confidentiality and secrecy: toward an EU harmonization?, Laura Stelzer, Legal Advisor, Legal and Policy Officer, DG Just, EU Commission
  • Confidentiality and secrecy. Experience from EUROPOL, Giovanni D’Auria, Institutional and Legal Affairs Department, Europol
  • Confidentiality and secrecy. Experience from the EPPO, Emmanuel Farhat, Legal Service, European Public Prosecutor’s Office
  • Confidentiality and secrecy: a continental view, Valentina Covolo, Legal expert, Parquet financier du Tribunal de Luxembourg

• 13.00

  Closing remarks

  Silvia Allegrezza, Professor of Criminal Law, Principal Investigator of PRIVILEGED, University of Luxembourg

In partnership with

^{Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Directorate-General for European Anti-Fraud Office. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.}

^{PRIVILEGED, 101140573}

• Find out more about the PRIVILEGED Research Project