According to Juliane Kokott, Advocate General to the European Court of Justice, anti-piracy and copyright enforcement groups may not be able to demand that ISP’s hand over the names and addresses of those they accuse of file-sharing.
Kokott, top legal adviser to the European Union’s highest Court said that while it is a requirement for ISP’s to divulge personal details in criminal cases, the law does not have the power to force them to disclose the same in a civil case. In Europe, the personal, non-commerical sharing of copyright works is a civil issue.
TorrentFreak

Copyright infringement can be pursued as a criminal as well as a civil matter in most European countries, just like it is the case in the US. Copyright holders prefer civil litigation simply because those cases can be settled outside of the court - and most people tend to settle for a few thousand bucks rather than fight.
p2p blog