12/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Police Office, Europol, published a report on Tuesday 12 May on the increasing incidence of cargo theft in the European Union. Estimated at over €8.2 billion annually, cargo theft affects all Union countries. Countries suffering the largest financial losses (billions of euro of GDP) are the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. Countries where the largest number of attacks on cargo have been committed (in millions of tonnes) are Romania, Hungary and Poland. Cargo theft increasingly concerns metal, such as nickel and copper, and even scrap iron. Criminals who commit cargo theft are showing an increasing willingness to employ firearms and violence in the pursuit of their goals. The report gives an overview of the problem and sets out recommendations to combat this phenomenon. For further information see: http: //http://www.europol.europa.eu/ (B.C./transl.jl)