The Crime Fighting Week: combating Transnational Organised Crime beyond the EU’s borders

The event brought together colleagues from different institutions working on the main regional and global EU-funded transnational organised crime projects. Over a hundred participants engaged in structured discussions and exchanges, with the aim of developing shared perspectives on the current nature of the transnational organised crime threat and enhancing cooperation to fight it.

Transnational organised crime remains a complex, evolving and multidimensional threat. Illicit flows are diverse and multifaceted. The Crime Fighting Week was not only an opportunity to foster cooperation, but also a symbol of the importance the European Union (EU) attaches to combating organised crime - both within and beyond its borders.

Director Peter M. Wagner, the Head of the FPI, delivered opening remarks and chaired the first session on 28 September dedicated to assessing emerging trends related to the global threat of transnational organised crime. He flagged that “Organised crime has an enormous human cost. Since the start of the 21st century, organised crime in its various dimensions of illicit activities has claimed as many lives as all conflicts and terrorism combined”. Combating organised crime remains a priority not only for the EU, but for the world. Almost 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with high levels of criminality and low levels of resilience. We need global action to address this global threat.

Natalie Pauwels, the Head of Unit of FPI.1, also delivered remarks highlighting that “the EU is strengthening its engagement to fight environmental crime, including linkages with transnational organised crime. This means targeting illicit flows as well as the online dimensions of this wide-ranging problem.”

Aside from environmental crime and the global threat of transnational organised crime, sessions were also organised on illicit financial flows, drugs trafficking, and organised crime in the Western Balkans, EU neighbourhood, and Latin America.

This week gave an opportunity to improve our understanding of the nature of the constantly evolving threat, and hold bilateral meetings to identify areas for further cooperation and coordination among the EU-funded projects.

The Crime Fighting Week was organised by the FPI, with the involvement of DGs INTPA, NEAR and HOME, and the support of RUSI Europe. Participating organisations included the Interpol, Europol, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Civipol, World Customs Organization, FRONTEX, CEPOL, EUROJUST, MAOC(N) and GI-TOC, among others.