24 February
The 16th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol has concluded in the Senate
Within the framework of the Polish presidency in the Council of the European Union, the 16th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol (JPSG) was held in the Polish Senate on 24 February 2025.
At the introductory session, Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Mrs Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, underlined that – given the need to take decisive action in fighting international criminal networks, terrorism and radicalisation – the JPSG was tasked with ensuring that privacy and freedom was limited only to an absolute necessary minimum. The Minister of the Interior and Administration, Mr Tomasz Siemoniak, assured the participants that the Polish government was in favour of
reinforcing European institutions responsible for security and equipping them with a greater range of measures. In his opinion, the parliamentary dimension of the developments in Europe gives greater public support and a greater mandate to act. That is the rationale behind the activities of the JPSG. In his recorded speech, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Mr Magnus Brunner, announced that Europol would change its approach to protection against the threats of the current geopolitical situation.
Europol Executive Director, Ms Catherine de Bolle, and Chair of the Europol Management Board, Mr Ireneusz Sieńko, presented a report on Europol activities from November 2024 to February 2025. In line with the programming document, the years 2025-2028 will see Europol’s operational activities become significantly more intensive, with human and financial resources of the agency doubled. Europol is getting ready to assume its function as EU’s criminal centre, which will allow access to such EU databases as SIS, VIS, EES, ETIAS and Eurodac. The Management Board adopted the following as its operational priorities: strengthening the capabilities in forensic analysis, providing greater operational support for Member States – including through the establishment of taskforces in the regions – intensifying efforts to prevent and combat serious organised crime, financial crime and corruption, combating ever-growing violence, and establishing partner relationships with private entities based on experiences in public-private partnerships which have turned out to be incredibly useful in combating cybercrime and supporting financial investigations.
According to Mr Wojciech Wiewiórkowski, European Data Protection Supervisor, interoperability and fast data flows within the EU are a great opportunity, but joint operational analysis is required to ensure that data are secure, meaning there is a need for coordination, oversight and parliamentary scrutiny. Mr Wiewiórkowski identified artificial intelligence and biometric data as some of the areas in which we are facing problems today. The need to protect data also pertains to international cooperation and exchanges with private entities. In his response, Deputy Europol Executive Director at the Governance Directorate, Mr Jürgen Ebner, stated that exchanging information is essential for the work of the police and must go hand in hand with personal data protection. He also subscribed to the belief that there must be shared responsibility for administering data, and pointed to the necessity of having a smart approach, gradually introducing technical measures which would be adequate to the emerging challenges.
At the session dedicated to combating drug trafficking in Europe, the Head of Serious & Organized Crime at Europol, Mr Andy Kraag, said that the most pressing challenges involved the new drug smuggling routes and trafficking methods, the criminals’ use of modern digital technologies, and the recruitment of minors for violent crimes. He also pointed to the unprecedented growth in the production of synthetic drugs in Europe. He underlined that combating drug trafficking required very close cooperation between the Member States of the EU as well as third states. Mr Cezary Luba, Commander-in-Chief of the Central Investigation Bureau of Police, believes the dynamically changing drug market requires a swift adjustment in methods of fighting drug trafficking. He emphasised that EU legislation concerning drugs must be harmonised, the level of border checks should be raised, and the legislative reaction to newly emergent opioids must be faster. Difficulties in detecting and classifying new substances also pose a problem.
Participants of the meeting also talked about combating the sexual exploitation of children online and offline. Mr Antonio Labrador Jimenez, team leader on the fight against child sexual abuse in the Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission said that intensive works were being undertaken to amend European legislation, so as to introduce more restrictive and effective provisions. This would involve, among other things, harmonising the statute of limitations for these kinds of offences across states, or introducing a requirement to present clean criminal record certificates in employment for some professions. Talking about the scale of exploiting the youngest people on the Internet, Deputy Executive Director of Europol at the Operations Directorate, Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, said that it grew like a rolling snowball, and what contributed to that were the newest technologies which drive the number of criminal offences involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Currently, the Web – especially the so-called darknet – features millions of photos and clips which their distributors exchange for heaps of money. Prosecuting the perpetrators of these heinous offences, which are deeply scarring both physically and mentally for the young victims, is incredibly difficult, and possible primarily undercover. There are extreme technical difficulties, with the need to search through and process massive sets of materials, having to deal with the newest technologies and to face personal data protection issues.
Deputy Executive Director of Europol at the Operations Directorate, Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, also gave an update about ongoing Europol activities linked to the war in Ukraine. He underlined that Ukraine was one of the most important partners of Europol. The cooperation has been highly efficient from the very beginning, but since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the intensity of the exchange of information rose by 43%. Under its operational support for Ukraine, Europol conducts an international analytical project which supports investigations aimed at identifying Russian war crimes. There are currently 143 such cases pending, with over 20,000 photographs and video materials being analysed, documenting around 25,000 potential war crimes. Europol also supports an open-source intelligence team searching for the criminals. The agency additionally cooperates with the International Criminal Court as regards these cases. Furthermore, Europol helps to identify and evaluate threats, and analyses the potential impacts of the end of the war, such as migratory movements – including a large influx of Ukrainians to the EU – and an increase in criminal behaviours among those returning from the frontlines, particularly in the illegal trafficking in arms. That is why secure disarmament must be ensured, so that weapons do not fall into the hands of criminals. Europol believes there is a big risk that cybercrime will grow in scale. The agency continues to monitor for hybrid threats. After the war, there will be additional difficulties related to the recovery of Ukraine. “We will continue to support Ukraine. We have wonderful partners in Ukrainians. They make up the European landscape of security,” Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe concluded.
Within the framework of the Polish presidency in the Council of the European Union, the 16th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol (JPSG) was held in the Polish Senate on 24 February 2025.
At the introductory session, Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Mrs Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, underlined that – given the need to take decisive action in fighting international criminal networks, terrorism and radicalisation – the JPSG was tasked with ensuring that privacy and freedom was limited only to an absolute necessary minimum.
The Minister of the Interior and Administration, Mr Tomasz Siemoniak, assured the participants of the meeting that the Polish government was in favour of reinforcing European institutions responsible for security and equipping them with a greater range of measures. In his opinion, the parliamentary dimension of the developments in Europe gives greater public support and a greater mandate to act. That is the rationale behind the activities of the JPSG. In his recorded speech, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Mr Magnus Brunner, announced that Europol would change its approach to protection against the threats of the current geopolitical situation.
Europol Executive Director, Ms Catherine de Bolle, and Chair of the Europol Management Board, Mr Ireneusz Sieńko, presented a report on Europol activities from November 2024 to February 2025. In line with the programming document, the years 2025-2028 will see Europol’s operational activities become significantly more intensive, with human and financial resources of the agency doubled. Europol is getting ready to assume its function as EU’s criminal centre, which will allow access to such EU databases as SIS, VIS, EES, ETIAS and Eurodac. The Management Board adopted the following as its operational priorities: strengthening the capabilities in forensic analysis, providing greater operational support for Member States – including through the establishment of taskforces in the regions – intensifying efforts to prevent and combat serious organised crime, financial crime and corruption, combating ever-growing violence, and establishing partner relationships with private entities based on experiences in public-private partnerships which have turned out to be incredibly useful in combating cybercrime and supporting financial investigations.
According to Mr Wojciech Wiewiórkowski, European Data Protection Supervisor, interoperability and fast data flows within the EU are a great opportunity, but joint operational analysis is required to ensure that data are secure, meaning there is a need for coordination, oversight and parliamentary scrutiny. Mr Wiewiórkowski identified artificial intelligence and biometric data as some of the areas in which we are facing problems today. The need to protect data also pertains to international cooperation and exchanges with private entities. In his response, Deputy Europol Executive Director at the Governance Directorate, Mr Jürgen Ebner, stated that exchanging information is essential for the work of the police and must go hand in hand with personal data protection. He also subscribed to the belief that there must be shared responsibility for administering data, and pointed to the necessity of having a smart approach, gradually introducing technical measures which would be adequate to the emerging challenges.
At the session dedicated to combating drug trafficking in Europe, the Head of Serious & Organized Crime at Europol, Mr Andy Kraag, said that the most pressing challenges involved the new drug smuggling routes and trafficking methods, the criminals’ use of modern digital technologies, and the recruitment of minors for violent crimes. He also pointed to the unprecedented growth in the production of synthetic drugs in Europe. He underlined that combating drug trafficking required very close cooperation between the Member States of the EU as well as third states. Mr Cezary Luba, Commander-in-Chief of the Central Investigation Bureau of Police, believes the dynamically changing drug market requires a swift adjustment in methods of fighting drug trafficking. He emphasised that EU legislation concerning drugs must be harmonised, the level of border checks should be raised, and the legislative reaction to newly emergent opioids must be faster. Difficulties in detecting and classifying new substances also pose a problem.
Participants of the meeting also talked about combating the sexual exploitation of children online and offline. Mr Antonio Labrador Jimenez, team leader on the fight against child sexual abuse in the Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission said that intensive works were being undertaken to amend European legislation, so as to introduce more restrictive and effective provisions. This would involve, among other things, harmonising the statute of limitations for these kinds of offences across states, or introducing a requirement to present clean criminal record certificates in employment for some professions. Talking about the scale of exploiting the youngest people on the Internet, Deputy Executive Director of Europol at the Operations Directorate, Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, said that it grew like a rolling snowball, and what contributed to that were the newest technologies which drive the number of criminal offences involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Currently, the Web – especially the so-called darknet – features millions of photos and clips which their distributors exchange for heaps of money. Prosecuting the perpetrators of these heinous offences, which are deeply scarring both physically and mentally for the young victims, is incredibly difficult, and possible primarily undercover. There are extreme technical difficulties, with the need to search through and process massive sets of materials, having to deal with the newest technologies and to face personal data protection issues.
Deputy Executive Director of Europol at the Operations Directorate, Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, also gave an update about ongoing Europol activities linked to the war in Ukraine. He underlined that Ukraine was one of the most important partners of Europol. The cooperation has been highly efficient from the very beginning, but since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the intensity of the exchange of information rose by 43%. Under its operational support for Ukraine, Europol conducts an international analytical project which supports investigations aimed at identifying Russian war crimes. There are currently 143 such cases pending, with over 20,000 photographs and video materials being analysed, documenting around 25,000 potential war crimes. Europol also supports an open-source intelligence team searching for the criminals. The agency additionally cooperates with the International Criminal Court as regards these cases. Furthermore, Europol helps to identify and evaluate threats, and analyses the potential impacts of the end of the war, such as migratory movements – including a large influx of Ukrainians to the EU – and an increase in criminal behaviours among those returning from the frontlines, particularly in the illegal trafficking in arms. That is why secure disarmament must be ensured, so that weapons do not fall into the hands of criminals. Europol believes there is a big risk that cybercrime will grow in scale. The agency continues to monitor for hybrid threats. After the war, there will be additional difficulties related to the recovery of Ukraine. “We will continue to support Ukraine. We have wonderful partners in Ukrainians. They make up the European landscape of security,” Mr Jean-Philippe Lecouffe concluded.
