Europees Parlement ziet noodzaak voor EU meer samen te werken tegen misdaad (en)

Existing legislation needs to be adapted in order to "bolster investigatory strategies" in the fight against organised crime, according to a report adopted by the EP. The author of the report, Bill NEWTON DUNN (ALDE, UK), says that changes need to be made in areas such as "the obtaining of evidence and its admissibility, or financial information for the purpose of identifying and then neutralising the proceeds of crime."

The report states that the relevant authorities must "urgently adapt the means and methods available" to them. 

Action needed to "catch up with the reality"

The report urges that Council "call on the Member States to extend, as soon as possible, the use of special investigation techniques and promote the creation of joint investigation teams" as part of a drive to catch up with the "ultra sophisticated cooperation between the various criminal groups." To improve understanding of these criminal phenomena, the report calls for more effective "information channels between actors" which, together with "focusing and networking statistical tools" will ensure that "the intelligence disseminated not only provides an accurate assessment of organised crime but is comparable and proposes intelligible strategies and recommendations for action which the agencies active on the ground can apply."

Europol and Eurojust

The report also calls for "the necessary autonomy" to be given to the European Police Office (Europol) and the European Union's Judicial Co-operation Unit (Eurojust), by granting them "full powers of initiative within their respective fields of responsibility", thus enabling them to become "leaders in the fight against organised crime on a Europe-wide scale." The report cautions however that the extension of such powers must not undermine the activities of national authorities or lead to "imbalances or duplication", and thus any such expansion must be carried out with "genuine Parliamentary oversight."

Terrorism

Member States should continue to maintain "the utmost vigilance with regard to possible links between terrorist organisations and organised criminal groups, particularly in connection with money laundering and the funding of terrorism", the report says. In addition, the report urges to Council to "continue and intensify the [efforts] to [develop] a genuine `Internal Security Architecture'."

The Council is also asked to adopt "a strict framework including binding guarantees as regards fundamental rights" when drawing up EU policy on tackling organised crime.

Public support

The support of the general public towards such measures is "one of the conditions for success in the fight against organised crime" and the report calls for a "significant effort to inform the general public of the successes achieved through good cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies and legal bodies" highlighting the need to raise awareness of "the value added by EU initiatives in this area of vital importance for citizens."