Drugs trade a 'growing security threat', says EU Commission

European Commission to provide €200m fund to boost security at EU ports

The cargo ship, MV Matthew, berthed at Marino Point in Cork last month. A haul of cocaine with an initial value of €157m was found on the vessel according to Gardaí. Picture Denis Minihane

EU actions directed at dismantling criminal networks need to be "stepped up urgently", according to the European Commission.

Publishing an EU roadmap to fight drug trafficking and organised crime, the commission said the drugs trade was "one of the most serious security threats" facing Europe and said the danger was "escalating".

The commission said the drugs trade has resulted in a “wave of violence in the streets” of Europe.

Victims include an 11-year-old girl in Antwerp, Belgium, last January, a 10-year-old boy in Nimes, France, in August and a 13-year-old boy in Stockholm, Sweden, last month.

The EU roadmap cites record cocaine hauls in Netherlands (eight tonnes) and Spain (9.5 tonnes) within two weeks in August.

The roadmap sets out 17 actions in four priority areas: 

• a new European Ports Alliance to strengthen port security; 
• dismantle criminal networks; 
• improve prevention; 
• strengthen international co-operation.

It said custom authorities were the “first line of defence” at EU borders.

The commission said it was allocating more than €200m in 2024 to fund state-of-the-art equipment to help customs scan containers and vehicles.

Overall, the commission said a “paradigm shift” was needed in how law enforcement tackled organised crime, by moving away from individual criminals and specific crimes to investigating and prosecuting networks as a whole.

It said a network of specialised prosecutors and judges from member states should be created to help complex cross-border investigations.

The commission said that once proposed legislation was passed, a new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) would provide operational support to Financial Intelligence Units in each country.

On the international front, it said they were negotiating agreements on the exchange of personal data between Europol and Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

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It said it was also intensifying work to conclude negotiations on international judicial co-operation agreements between Eurojust, the EU judicial body, and Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

The commission said it was also trying to strengthen law enforcement co-operation between the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries. This included the exchange of information and intelligence and streamline operations between Europol and Colombia to disrupt criminal drug-trafficking networks.

The roadmap said the commission would work on identifying current issues faced by member states with non-EU countries in relation to diplomatic efforts. “The commission will explore the possibility to launch negotiations to conclude specific EU extradition agreements,” it said.

If this were to include countries like the United Arab Emirates, where many of the top European drug traffickers operate from, including the Kinahan cartel, this could benefit the likes of Ireland seeking the extradition of cartel bosses.

“The scale, sophistication and violent consequences of organised crime have become a serious threat to the EU’s security,” the commission said.

“As criminal networks’ methods become more sophisticated, so should the EU’s: the response to dismantle these networks needs to be stepped up urgently.”