Beyond the Assimilation Principle: Enhanced Protection of the EU’s Financial Interest vis-à-vis National Interests in Italy

The aim of this Article is to demonstrate that a number of regulatory measures within the Italian legal system go “beyond” the assimilation principle. These measures not only adhere to the founding treaties of the European Union, which state that the financial interests of the Union must be protected using the same instruments (or at least equally effective mechanisms) as those safeguarding national financial interests, but they also impose, in some cases, stronger control systems and harsher penalties regarding European resources than those applied to national funds. In this paper, we argue that these new regulatory changes may not only offer potential benefits in terms of efficiency but may also pose risks that must be addressed in anticipation of future developments in the interaction between the European institutions and the EU Member States in managing public funds.