On Thursday 21 May, the European Commission launched a €16.5 million call for proposals aiming to better combat organised crime - in particular, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
The ambition behind the initiative is to tackle these organisations’ business model directly by strengthening the resources available to law enforcement and civil society.
The funded projects are thus expected to improve intelligence, facilitate cross-border financial investigations, and prevent criminal networks from infiltrating the legal economy. Emphasis has notably been placed on monitoring transport routes and using technological innovations to detect drug production sites.
In a communiqué published on Friday, the European Commission stressed how interconnected criminal networks are, reiterating that human trafficking creates nearly 10,000 victims per year in Europe and is often intertwined with money laundering and even drug trafficking - a particularly lucrative sector that itself generates violence and environmental disasters.
This funding is part of the ProtectEU strategy and the 2023–2027 Internal Security Fund (ISF). Applications are open until 3 September 2026.
Link to the call for proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/m0f (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)