Debate: Cross-border organised crime and its impact on free movement
Date: MONDAY, 13 JANUARY 2020
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

Organised crime affects the life and safety of European citizens. It affects Europe’s economy and society’s trust in public institutions. The 2017 European Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment Report stated that more than 5 000 organised crime groups are under investigation in Europe, which is a rise of more than 50% compared to the numbers from 2013. Their profits are estimated at EUR 110 billion per year in the European Union. However, only one percentage point of these profits is confiscated. The challenge is to build a holistic and comprehensive approach with the legislative and operational instruments to tackle the modus operandi of organised crime groups, including one of its key enablers, corruption. At the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) meeting in December 2019, dedicated to the fight against corruption and organised crime, the Members of this House called for a strategy on organised crime and corruption, as European problems call for European solutions. Therefore, I very much welcome the timely organisation of this debate.  In 2008, the EU adopted a legally binding instrument requiring Member States to outlaw participation in a criminal organisation. However, by the time it was adopted, some shortcomings had already been identified, such as the lack of harmonisation in the definition of the offence (participation in a criminal organisation), which, in practice, means that a number of Member States do not criminalise the mere participation in a criminal organisation, but require a specific link to a criminal offence. As policymakers, it is our duty to close loopholes in existing legislation. An external study on organised crime, and also on this issue, will be launched very soon.  The approach of ‘following the money’ should be part of any investigation into organised crime. The Directive on Law Enforcement Access to Financial Information entered into force on 1 August last year. Additional measures may be needed to enable law enforcement authorities to carry out effective cross-border investigations. Interconnection as well as access for law enforcement is a key component for investigations into organised crime, and this avenue should be pursued in the future.  Asset recovery offices have been created in all Member States, and the Directive on Freezing and Confiscation of Instrumentalities and Proceeds of Crime, adopted in 2014, harmonises these rules across the European Union.  A new regulation on the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders that will apply as of December 2020 complements the legal framework. However, we need to do more. A confiscation rate of 1% is just much too low. The Commission will therefore present a report on the implementation of the Confiscation Directive to help reflect on the need for stronger provision on enhancing asset tracing, freezing and confiscation.  The Commission has already analysed non-conviction-based confiscation provisions in the Member States in a document presented in the LIBE Committee last September. The Europol 2017 report also highlighted the way corruption enables the crime. The 2019 midterm review showed the considerable increase in top-level organised crime activities in the European Union. It is essential that Member States are well equipped to fight against corruption. The capacity to fight corruption has been identified as one of the key aspects of the new rule of law review cycle to be developed by the Commission in 2020.  The European Labour Authority, mandated to facilitate the free movement of workers across the EU and to support the Commission and Member States in the application and enforcement of European law, will also create synergies and work together with other EU agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust, in the fight against organised crime and trafficking in human beings. The Commission fully supports Europol’s approach to dismantling top—level organised crime groups by removing the key players, the so-called high—value targets. Such an approach fits with a desire to deprive criminals of their illegally gained profits. It is also important for Europol to stress that any high-value targets initiative should be complementary to the EU policy cycle on serious and organised crime.  The fight against illicit drugs will be a priority for the next Commission. According to the latest report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and Europol, we are currently experiencing the worst drug crisis in our history. The volume of cocaine and heroin introduced in the EU is at an all-time high, and in parts of Europe, synthetic drug production is growing. As the current EU drug strategy is ending, the Commission will consider what future action is needed in view of this alarming situation. EMPACT, the EU policy cycle for serious and international organised crime, has changed the way the Member States cooperate and tackle organised crime together. For the period 2018-2021, 10 crime priorities are being jointly addressed. These include cybercrime, drug trafficking, facilitation of illegal immigration, and trafficking in human beings, among others.  The numbers are staggering. In 2018, on trafficking in human beings, more than 1 200 investigations were initiated, with 7 249 suspects reported and 6 057 victims identified. Another example I would refer to is excise fraud, where over EUR 229 million of tax evasion has been prevented. So we see that the challenge is enormous and that this is really a European problem, a European challenge, to which we need to find the answers together. Therefore, I would really like to thank Madam President for tabling this issue for plenary debate. I will be listening very carefully to the views of honourable Members and will come back to you with concrete proposals in the future.