Europol and European Commission lead new project to target organised crime in EU Eastern Neighbourhood

Eastern Partnership countries to join operations against criminal groups in the EU

Through this four-year-long initiative, Europol will support the cooperation between involved law enforcement authorities both on a strategic and operational level. Special funding will enable the Eastern Partnership countries to participate in operational activities against some of the ten most significant threats to the EU security listed under the EU Policy Cycle. Eastern Partnership countries will potentially be able to take part in operations in the framework of the annually updated EMPACT action plans, which target criminal groups active in the ten priority crime areas for the EU. Existing networks for information sharing and operational cooperation may be further extended into joint investigations to improve the effectiveness in fighting transnational organised crime.   

As part of a larger €10 million EU cooperation initiative, the EU has dedicated €2.5 million to support the project that will run for the next four years. Two other components are focused on law enforcement training and threat assessment (a project led by Cepol with the participation of Europol) and on criminal asset recovery (managed by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute - UNICRI).

As described in the European Union’s Communication on the Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020, the fight against organised crime is an important priority for the EU and its partner countries going forward. A Partnership that protects will strive to create a safer environment for citizens in the EaP countries and the EU, based on the rule of law and mutual cooperation between law enforcement agencies.