Fight against organised crime

European Union (EU) policy seeks to combat organised crime. Whilst operational activities such as prosecuting criminals remain the responsibility of EU Member States, the EU’s objective is to assist in fighting organised crime more effectively.

EU action is based on various tools, such as gathering reliable crime statistics and establishing networks for exchanging information and best practices. The EU is assisted by its specialised agencies, such as the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training.

In April 2021, the European Commission presented the EU strategy to tackle organised crime. This focuses on:

• boosting law enforcement and judicial cooperation;
• enhancing effective investigations to disrupt organised crime structures and high-priority crimes;
• removing criminal profits (‘follow the money’ approach);
• ensuring a modern response to technological developments.

The Internal Security Fund for the 2021-2027 period builds on its predecessor and adapts it to new developments, such as the need to intensify the fight against terrorism, serious and organised crime and cybercrime. The programme will support measures to:

• improve the sharing of information;
• intensify cross-border cooperation, including joint operations on terrorism and organised crime;
• strengthen capabilities to prevent and combat crime.

SEE ALSO

• Eurojust
• Europol (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation)
• European Union
• Fight against organised crime
• Fight against terrorism
• Internal security strategy (ISS)
• Member States
• Money laundering
• Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters
• European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) (summary)
• EU security union strategy (summary)
• Organised crime and human trafficking (European Commission).