Europol Review 2015

Increasing cooperation to counter organised crime and terrorism

In 2015, Europol made significant progress as regards cooperation with the Member States and its partners: EU bodies, third states, as well as other international organisations. Cooperation with third parties with an operational cooperation agreement was especially strengthened through new associations with Europol’s analysis work files. This trend reflects the ever increasing spread of organised crime and terrorism, and the matching need for law enforcement cooperation, also seen in the 20% increase over 2014 in the number of SIENA operational messages exchanged and over 60% increase in the use of the Europol Information System. Certain crime areas, such as illegal immigration and terrorism saw an impressive increase in operational cooperation and information sharing. The information regarding all persons registered in the analytical project on foreign terrorist fighters saw a six-fold increase from the end of 2014 till the beginning of 2016, and currently contains 18 000 persons (suspects or associates).

Interagency cooperation

Further to a joint annual report from Europol and Eurojust, the two agencies held a high-level meeting in 2015 to discuss their future cooperation. Moreover, Eurojust seconded an expert to the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol. Regular high-level meetings were also organised with Interpol and the two agencies agreed on common operational priorities.

Europol continued its close cooperation with Interpol. Both organisations hold an annual cybercrime conference. This year’s edition took place at Europol’s headquarters and brought together over 350 representatives from law enforcement, the private sector, academia and international organisations from around the globe. The cooperation between both organisations has been strengthened by the deployment of the first Europol liaison officer to the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation.

Europol signed an operational cooperation agreement with Frontex, to help tackle migrant smuggling networks more effectively. Europol also signed a grant agreement with the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM, now called the European Union Intellectual Property Office, EUIPO), which will intensify efforts in protecting intellectual property rights. Europol discussed further cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and eu-LISA², while regular communication was established with the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator.

European Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA).footnote 2

European police chiefs stand together against terrorism

FBI Director James Comey at the 2015 EPCC

In September 2015, more than 300 police chiefs, senior law enforcement officers and academic experts from 50 countries and a dozen international organisations and agencies gathered at Europol headquarters in The Hague for the annual European Police Chiefs Convention (EPCC). During the event, the heads of European law enforcement discussed topical terrorism and illegal immigration issues. Illegal immigration was also high on the agendas of bilateral and multilateral meetings of police chiefs. Terrorism talks included the phenomenon of foreign fighters, and fighting terrorist and extremist propaganda content on the internet. The US perspective on fighting internet-related crime was presented in a keynote speech by James Comey, Director of the US FBI.

Europol’s new Strategy for 2016-2020

In May 2015, Europol launched a rigorous consultation process with its key stakeholders to elaborate a new five-year Strategy, which was approved in December 2015 by Europol’s Management Board. The new Europol Strategy 2016-2020 re-affirms Europol’s core purpose and focus on supporting law enforcement authorities in their fight against serious and organised crime and terrorism. In this new stage of Europol’s development, the strategic emphasis of the organisation will shift from the development of new capabilities to the fullscale delivery of operational services and impact. For the years 2016-2020, Europol will also concentrate focus on making a significant contribution to criminal information management in the EU.

Europol Regulation

The legislative process for the adoption of a Europol Regulation continued in 2015. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached political agreement on the Europol Regulation in December 2015. Europol looks forward to the new flexibility this will bring for combating organised crime and terrorism, while maintaining a strong data protection and oversight regime. Europol anticipates spending most of 2016 in preparation for the implementation of the new legal framework, prior to its expected date of application in mid-2017.

Europol facilitates public access to documents

Europol has dedicated part of its website to providing public access to Europol documents. Additionally, a public register of documents is available and regularly updated. Europol also responds to requests for access to documents received both directly and through consultation by third parties. In 2015, Europol replied to 25 applications, 14 consultations and two confirmatory applications, corresponding to more than 100 documents.

EU Most Wanted

In 2015, Europol continued to support the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST) in developing a secure platform for the Europe’s Most Wanted Fugitives’ website. ENFAST is a network of police officers from 28 EU Member States specialised in undertaking immediate action to locate and arrest fugitives. As a result of this project, a dedicated website of www.eumostwanted.eu was launched in January 2016. The website available in 17 languages shares information on high-profile internationally-wanted criminals, convicted of, or suspected of having committed, serious crimes or terrorist acts in Europe. Within the first 36 hours after the launch the site was viewed by more than 1 million visitors. Three days after the launch, the first target on the list was arrested by the Helsinki Police.

Europol explores tomorrow’s organised crime

Organised crime remains dynamic and continues to find ways of exploiting new and evolving technologies. Europol has identified a number of key driving factors for the evolution of serious and organised crime in the EU in the coming years, such as new forms of payment, e.g. virtual currencies, which will change how criminal actors transfer and launder the illicit proceeds of crime. Innovation in transportation and logistics are expected to provide organised criminals with greater mobility and new ways to traffic illicit goods. The report outlines a number of plausible developments in the future and aims to encourage law enforcement authorities to consider and explore the potential evolution of serious and organised crime.

Did you know?

Did you know that Europol is also engaged in fighting the trafficking of endangered species of flora and fauna, which is a form of environmental crime? Although this is not one of our priorities, Europol has dedicated staff working on these issues. Europol provides the permanent secretariat for the Environmental Crime Network (EnviCrimeNet), ensuring that practitioners from all over Europe can be linked together. In 2015, the EnviCrimeNet and Europol finalised a year-long intelligence project on environmental crime supported by the Dutch Police and Dutch Food, Consumer and Product Safety Authority, and comprising data from 50 jurisdictions. Underreporting of this type of crime has been identified as one of the main issues.