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Justice - Home affairs

4. Fighting crime and terrorism

Guaranteeing the security of its citizens is one of the key priorities of the European Union. Both practical and legislative means are used to fight organised crime, drugs trade, terrorism, money laundering and human trafficking.

On the practical front, national police forces cooperate increasingly, especially through Europol. Europol, based in The Hague, acts as a coordination centre: it collects, analyses and shares intelligence on criminal activities, to help the member states more effectively fight serious crime across the Union.

One serious problem is money laundering. The introduction of the euro has made it easier to move large sums of money from illegal activities around the EU undetected. Here, tougher legislation is being used to tackle the problem. Proceeds of crime can be confiscated and financial institutions, such as accountants and lawyers, are legally obliged to report suspicious transactions.

One of the challenges to law enforcement and judicial systems in the Union, is the preventing and suppressing of terrorism with all effective means while complying fully with fundamental rights of citizens. In the fight against terrorism, the EU pursues seven major objectives:

1. to reinforce international efforts to combat terrorism;
2. to reduce terrorists’ access to financial resources;
3. to increase the capacities in the EU to investigate and prosecute;
4. to protect the security of international transport and EU borders;
5. to strengthen the coordination between member states to prevent and deal with the consequences of a terrorist attack;
6. to identify the factors that contribute to the recruitment of terrorists;
7. to encourage third countries combat terrorism more effectively.