On Monday, May 12, members of the Immigration & Asylum / JBZ Council (I&A/JBZ) and Justice and Security (J&V) committees paid a working visit to the EU agencies Eurojust and Europol in The Hague. Members from various factions participated in the working visit: committee chairs Alexander van Hattem (PVV) and Boris Dittrich (D66) and committee members Eugène Heijnen (BBB), Arie Griffioen (BBB), Hetty Janssen-van Helvoort (GroenLinks-PvdA), Rik Janssen (SP), Annabel Nanninga (JA21), Karin van Bijsterveld (JA21) and Martin van Rooijen (50PLUS).
Eurojust brings together public prosecutors and judges from Europe and beyond to effectively tackle all forms of serious cross-border crime. This includes online fraud, drug crime, money laundering, and human trafficking.
Europol assists EU member states in preventing and combating all forms of serious international and organized crime, cybercrime, and terrorism.
In his welcome address, President Michael Smid of Eurojust emphasized that the fight against organized crime can only be successful if countries cooperate across borders. This can be done, for example, by working closely with Europol.
Sanja Popovic, Judicial Cooperation Advisor, told the members more about Eurojusts work in relation to the war in Ukraine. She discussed, among other things, the Joint Investigation Teams (JITs): collaborations of prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement officers from different member states. These teams play an important role in addressing international core crimes, as is currently happening in the investigation of crimes committed during the war in Ukraine and after the attack on flight MH17 in 2014.
Eurojust Regulation
Lisette Vos, Deputy National Member for The Netherlands, provided an explanation of the revision of the Eurojust regulation, the progress in digitization, and the approach to the increasing globalization of crime. The potential use of artificial intelligence was also discussed to further automate processes in the future.
The visit concluded with a tour of the building and a room where a mock Coordination Centre was set up. Coordination centres have been established by Eurojust to support action days against criminal organizations and terrorist groups. In the mock Coordination Centre, members received an interactive demonstration of an operation.
The working visit then continued at Europol, where the members were received by Jürgen Ebner, the Deputy Executive Director Governance of Europol. Ebner provided more explanation about the governance framework, resources, and future vision of Europol. The organization aims for 24/7 operational support in investigations into serious organized crime, cybercrime, and terrorism.
Julia Viedma, Head of the Operational and Analysis Centre, explained the Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA). This assessment, which identifies seven major threats, made it clear that a significant shift is taking place in criminal networks and in the DNA of organized crime.
Next, an explanation about the European Serious and Organised Crime Centre was given by Andy Kraag, Head of the European Serious and Organised Crime Centre. During his explanation, issues such as human trafficking, people smuggling, and drug-related crime were discussed.
Artificial Intelligence and Law Enforcement
Didier Jacobs, Head of ICT Department and Chief AI Officer, provided members with more insight into artificial intelligence and law enforcement. By applying machine learning systems to Europols datasets, it is possible to accelerate investigative work.
Finally, Ferry Baali, Head of Europol National Unit (HENU), and Ilda Baloglu, Liaison Officer, shared more about the Liaison Bureau the Netherlands. Liaison officers contribute to all EMPACT priorities, analysis themes, and Operational Task Forces.