Introduction to the Special Section: The Shape-Shifting Definition of the EU’s Financial Interest and its Protection in Contemporary Europe

In just a few years, the concept of protecting the EU’s financial interests has become strategic and fundamental to understanding the economic and financial structure of the European legal system. But it is also essential in navigating the changes to constitutional, administrative, and criminal law that have marked the system following the pandemic and Ukrainian crises. This Special Section is both the long-term product of over two years of collaboration between the research group members of the “Better Knowledge for Better Solutions” (BETKOSOL) project, supported by the Hercule III programme of the European Commission, and a new beginning, with the “Better knowledge for the future generation” (BETKONEXT) project, supported by the Union Anti-Fraud Programme (EUAF-2023-TRAI). As a result, it is necessary to analyse the shape-shifting notion of financial interest from three perspectives: (i) EU Law and its core principles, (ii) its role in the institutional development of the EU legal system and its internal organisation (for example, in relation to the NGEU and REPowerEU), and (iii) its impact on the evolution of the legal systems of the Member States.