In order to deter corruption throughout the Union, Member States should lay down minimum types and levels of criminal and non-criminal penalties for the criminal offences defined in this Directive. The maximum levels of imprisonment and other penalties should be sufficiently high to deter possible offenders and to reflect the harmfulness of corruption. At the same time, those levels should be proportionate to the seriousness of each corruption offence and be consistent with levels of criminal penalties set in Union and national law. Member States should ensure that penalties are enforced to the extent necessary in order to deter the commission of those offences. If national law establishes the eventuality of suspended or conditional sentences, early release, parole or pardoning of persons convicted of any of the offences referred to in this Directive, judicial authorities should be able to take into account the seriousness of the criminal offences concerned among other factors.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
