A dark picture is painted when Europol presents its new Socta report on "serious and organized crime".
The entire underworld's DNA is in the process of changing fundamentally, they claim, where crime has adapted to the unstable world situation, and above all to new technology within AI, blockchains, and data management.
The report warns of increases in, among other things, cyberattacks, fraud, human trafficking, and smuggling of weapons and narcotics – where all crime categories are permeated by new technology.
The internet is not just a tool, it has become the primary arena for crime, says Europol chief Catherine De Bolle at a press conference.
This is a race between those who exploit technology to commit crimes and those who use it to combat them. We must ensure that crime fighting stays ahead.
"Can turn the tide"
Organized crime is "more established and more destabilizing than ever before", write the report authors.
According to Europol, EU countries are threatened on two fronts. Partly internally, through money laundering, corruption, and violence. But also externally, where criminal networks increasingly act as agents for Russia and other states in their hybrid warfare.
The report forms the basis for the direction of Brussels' fight against organized crime over the next four years. Europol calls for more cooperation between EU countries, including increased exchange of intelligence.
The future of European security lies in our hands. Threats are evolving, but so are we. Through cooperation, we can turn the tide, says Catherine De Bolle.
Gothenburg a wake-up call
Europol also notes that organizations' increasing habit of using minors as perpetrators both tears apart societies and serves as a shield for criminal leaders, making them harder to identify and prosecute.
New technology also plays a major role there, as recruitment often takes place via social media and messaging apps.
Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner mentions that it is now the tenth anniversary of the gang-related double murder on Vårväderstorget in Gothenburg in 2015, which he describes as a wake-up call for the European fight against organized crime.
It shocked Sweden, but it also shocked the entire EU. It opened our eyes to how crime affects the lives of ordinary EU citizens.
Europol is the EU's agency to help member states combat serious international crime and terrorism. The authority was established in 1999 and has around 900 employees with its headquarters in The Hague in the Netherlands. Catherine De Bolle, previously head of the Belgian police, has been the chief since 2018.
Europol should not be confused with the international police cooperation Interpol, based in Lyon, France, and founded in 1923 as a police cooperation with currently 194 member countries worldwide. Interpol's chief is Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi from the United Arab Emirates.
