Having briefly traced the history of EU criminal law, this chapter first examines the new rules governing the competency of the EU in criminal law matters deriving from the Lisbon Treaty. Europol and Eurojust, the EU institutions that have been created with a view to fighting trans-border crime are examined, and the pros and cons of a possible further institution, the European Public Prosecutor are discussed. A final section examines the impact of the EU Charter, and the need to establish in this area an order of precedence between the EU Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights.