Combating crime requires joint work for a common response

Crime “is a dynamic and complex phenomenon”, constantly evolving, “that affects all Member States, requires high resources and expertise, and which we must fight with energy and efficiency, based on the threat assessment and the identification of existing vulnerabilities, in order to know the risks and prepare the best way to tackle them”, said Francisca Van Dunem in the intervention made during the presentation of the 2021 edition of the EU’s Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment Report (SOCTA).

The Minister of Justice pointed out that crime knows no borders, “especially when criminal activities are carried out with the use of new information and communication technologies, as is increasingly the case, among many others, of the online sexual abuse of children, the apology of terrorism, hate speech or the sale of counterfeit vaccines”.

The protection of the European citizens cannot, therefore, be achieved through isolated actions by the Member States, nor by purely sectoral approaches, said Francisca Van Dunem. “Joint work is required to combine the dimension of police cooperation and the dimension of judicial cooperation, considered essential for the European Union to be able to provide a common, multidisciplinary and integrated response, guided by the action of the competent authorities”.

For the Minister of Justice, the cooperation and the sharing of information between the authorities of the Member States and between them and Europol are essential to combat organised crime, terrorism, money laundering and other criminal activities associated with low-risk and high profit business models, such as the counterfeiting of goods and products. These have a serious impact at various levels, in particular, on the health and safety of the citizens and the economy.

“It was for these reasons that the Portuguese Presidency decided to put the issue of counterfeiting on the European Union’s political agenda, in order to alert to the growing involvement of organised crime in these activities and the urgent need to fight it, as has been confirmed during the pandemic situation in which we live,” she said during her speech.

Francisca Van Dunem highlighted that only through cooperation, coordination and information sharing will it be possible to achieve the desired effectiveness in preventing and combating serious forms of crime. In this context, effective cooperation between Europol and Eurojust is essential as well.

“The SOCTA 2021 report, which now becomes public, is, in this context, of great relevance in this moment of transition to the new EU political cycle to combat serious and organised international crime”.

As a strategic report that provides a comprehensive assessment of threats, including external threats with an impact on the Union, the Minister of Justice highlighted SOCTA as “an instrument of vital importance for policy makers, law enforcement agencies and the public in general, identifying areas where the operational response should focus”.

Organised crime among the biggest threats at the moment

Published every four years since 2013, the SOCTA report provides a detailed analysis of the serious and organised crime threat that the EU faces, providing information to professionals, to policy makers and to the public in general.

“I must say that this is much more than a report: it is a guide to action, because we need to do more,’ underlined the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, who was in Lisbon to participate in the presentation of the 2021 edition of the analysis made by Europol.

Ylva Johansson characterized organized crime as “a real transnational threat” to society. "That is why Europol's SOCTA report is such an important prospective assessment that identifies changes in the scenario of serious and organized crime in the EU."

The latest results of the analysis made it clear that organised crime is one of the biggest threats now. “A growing threat. A violent threat. Contracted homicides, shootings, bombings, fires of criminal origin, kidnappings, torture and intimidation”.

“Ylva Johansson said that criminal networks increasingly use violence in Europe to get money. In a single year they will have gathered close to EUR 140 billion: 1% of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product. More than the GDP of some of our Member States”.

Organised crime harms the economy, the society and the Rule of Law, underlined the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, indicating that the EU is preparing a response strategy based on “permanent” police cooperation, highlighting the role of Europol in the field of law enforcement and of EMPACT – the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats.

The day-to-day sharing of information and the simplification and streamlining of this exchange of information, as well as the application of the e-evidence law between Member States, are some of the aspects that form part of the European strategy to combat organised crime, said Ylva Johansson.

“We are going to increase the fight against new and old threats. Threats that are clearly specified in today’s report,” said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs. “We must fight corruption (...) especially now that we are mobilising public money for the health area and for the economic recovery. Not a euro, not a penny of that money should end up in the pockets of criminals”.

SOCTA is a strategic report that provides a complete and comprehensive assessment of serious and organised, regional and pan-European crime threats, with an impact on the European Union, updating the European police community, decision-makers and the public in general, on developments in serious and organised crime and on the threats it represents, identifying areas where the operational response should focus.

The presentation of the results of the 2021 edition of the report, this Monday, takes place a few days before the debate scheduled for 14 April in the College of Commissioners of two European strategies: The EU Strategy on combating trafficking in human beings and the EU Strategy to tackle organised crime 2021-2025.

In addition to the Minister of Justice and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, at the presentation of SOCTA 2021 were also present the Minister for Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, and Executive Director of Europol Catherine De Bolle.