About: Organised Crime Archives

All court cases in Kosovo handled by European Union prosecutors and judges were suspended today (15 June) after the Balkan country failed to extend their mandate because of a dispute over the role of the EU’s legal mission.

On 11 May, hundreds of residents of Belgrade protested the bulldozing of buildings on a street facing the Sava river, outraged by the silence of the authorities, and the complicity of the police. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

The European Central Bank is set to decide today (4 May) the fate of the 500-euro banknote, which many people associate with money laundering, the black market and terrorist financing.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis yesterday (29 March) praised the country’s intelligence services and insisted that Romania is a safe country. EURACTIV Romania reports.

More lucrative and less risky than many traditional criminal activities, environmental crime is growing largely unchecked. EURACTIV's partner Journal de l’Environnement reports.

The European Commission published yesterday (28 January) its annual reports on Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries being monitored in an effort to help improve their deficient law-enforcement systems. Bulgaria expected a harsh report, but the Commission spared it criticism.

SPECIAL REPORT: The European Commission considers confiscation a strategic priority in the fight against organised crime and corruption. However, Bucharest is still hesitant to introduce this practice. EURACTIV Romania reports.

The European Union mission in Kosovo, meant to help the state develop its justice system, urged Kosovars yesterday (30 October) not to lose trust over allegations at least two senior staffers took bribes to drop criminal charges.

Darko Šari?, head of a network that smuggled drugs from Latin America to the Balkans and EU countries, was arrested yesterday (18 March) in a joint operation between  Serbian and Montenegrin authorities. The operation may boost Serbia’s credentials in law enforcement as the country begins accession talks. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

Albania is likely to get backing from Athens and Rome in its moves towards EU accession, but the rise of euroscepticism may unravel the whole process, Tirana officials say. EURACTIV Greece reports.

Hannes Swoboda, president of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, called yesterday (16 April) on the European Commission to investigate a wiretapping scandal in Bulgaria.

The European Commission on Wednesday (31 October) threatened to publish an extraordinary monitoring report on Bulgaria's ailing judicial system, hours after lawmakers in Sofia appointed a controversial figure to the country’s Constitutional Court despite EU warnings.

Plans for an EU-wide legal approach to match-fixing and money laundering in sport are under way, with the European Parliament committee on mafia and organised crime holding a debate on the issue yesterday (17 September).

EU foreign affairs ministers decided yesterday (26 June) to open accession negotiations with Montenegro on Friday, coinciding with the Union's leadership summit.

The inaugural meeting of the European Parliament's new "mafia" committee took place on 17 April, bringing to fruition a longtime push by Italian MEP Rosario Crocetta, who has been under police protection since 2002 due to his activities against Sicilian organised crime.

A municipal counsellor with ties to the Albanian government has been detained in his country under an Italian arrest warrant for drug-related convictions, the website Le Courrier des Balkans reports.

The European Commission published today (12 March) a legislative proposal to make more effective the tools for freezing, managing and confiscating assets from organised crime and mafia across the EU.

The Commission unveiled yesterday (8 February) its latest reports on the progress of Romania and Bulgaria in stepping up law enforcement and the fight against corruption. The EU executive also called on civil society to help accelerate reforms in the two countries.

Romanian Justice Minister C?t?lin Predoiu said his country had made unprecedented efforts to reform its law enforcement system, suggesting that Bucharest wanted to see the EU monitoring mechanism put in place five years ago removed by the summer.

Fraudulent pesticides that account for up to 25% of supplies in some European countries are threatening farmers, land and produce, warns the European Union law enforcement agency Europol.

The car of an eminent Bulgarian journalist exploded yesterday (13 October) evening in a criminal act that coincided with the visit of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who arrived in Sofia to offer his support to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov ahead of a Presidential election later this month.

The two largest opposition parties in Bulgaria filed a no-confidence motion against the minority centre-right government yesterday (13 July), slamming the prime minister for failing to join the EU's Schengen passport-free zone and for what they described as a law enforcement fiasco. Dnevnik, EURACTIV's partner in Bulgaria, reports.

One in every three incidents of eavesdropping in Bulgaria are carried out without the authorisation of a judge, reports Dnevnik, EURACTIV's partner in Sofia. A few days ago, the European Commission requested information from the Bulgarian authorities to ascertain the legality of massive eavesdropping in the country.

Romanian President Traian Basescu lashed out at a decision by France and Germany yesterday (21 December) to postpone his country’s accession to the EU's border-free Schengen area, describing it as an act of "discrimination". The EURACTIV network reports from Bucharest and Sofia.