Coalition of European countries fighting organised crime

The coalition of European countries fighting serious and organised crime is being strengthened. The move was agreed today in Amsterdam by Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. The investigative services of the six countries already often work together on cases, for example as a result of having cracked EncroChat and Sky ECC, used by criminals to send encrypted messages. Their collaboration will now be scaled up and expanded, for example by including countries in other parts of the world such as Latin America. This reflects the relentless nature of international drug crime and the way it constantly establishes new smuggling routes between ports in western Europe, attempts new money laundering techniques, and uses violence and intimidation to threaten our society and the democratic rule of law.

Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius of the Ministry of Justice and Security has agreed on a multi-year action plan with justice and interior ministers/representatives from Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, making it easier for them to work as a united front in the battle against organised crime. Representatives from the European Commission, Europol and Eurojust also participated in the discussion. The objective is to join forces in order to disrupt, intercept and destroy criminal networks and their businesses. The partner countries will do this by better aligning their resources, expertise and interventions, and applying them collectively.

'Organised crime already crosses all our borders, literally and figuratively. When drug criminals in the port of Rotterdam start feeling nervous, they scatter to Antwerp or Hamburg, and vice versa. Their activities include threatening and intimidating the pillars of our society, just so they can advance their illegal practices. This affects not just those who safeguard our rule of law, such as judges, public prosecutors, police officers, journalists, mayors and ministers. It also affects people working in the ports, people with financial expertise and ordinary people who find themselves confronted with violence and mistaken identity killings in their own neighbourhoods. By acting as one, we can tackle these unscrupulous criminals',

said minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

For example, a platform is being set up to enable the six countries to work together to disrupt and constrain drug smuggling through their respective logistical hubs: the ports, airports and transport corridors that serve as entry points to Europe. International cooperation will be expanded, and this will include a taskforce on organised drug crime in partnership with Latin American countries. It will focus on helping to build capacity for cooperation with countries known to be points of origin and transit for the drug trade, many of them in Latin America, in order to strengthen resilience against criminal networks. There will also be collaborative efforts to tackle the export and transit of drugs, for example by working with the United States, Caribbean countries and other parts of Europe such as the Balkan countries.

The six countries will also scale up the screening of financial transactions and of business operators such as shipping companies and transport providers, which might be deliberately or unknowingly involved in criminal activity. As the proceeds of crime are distributed globally, there will also be international efforts to find and confiscate that money through stronger EU legislation and cooperation agreements with countries that support payment and trade in crypto currencies. There will be support for innovations to improve the detection of illegal goods and to improve information gathering and sharing among investigative authorities, while ensuring the safeguarding of data.

The multi-year action plan follows on from the agreement made between Belgium, France, Spain and the Netherlands on 9 December 2021 to work together more closely on organised and subversive crime. Italy and Germany have now also joined in. Both countries are important partners in the fight against serious crime and will contribute a wealth of experience and expertise in undermining criminal power structures. The participating countries have agreed to regular meetings as a way of ensuring that their approach remains effective and up to date. The group will meet again next spring in the Belgian port city of Antwerp.