The 2023 results of the EU's flagship instrument to fight organised crime have been published. Across its 15 crime areas, EU-wide law enforcement and judicial actions have led to:

• 13 871 arrests
• over €797 million seized
• over 197 tonnes of drugs seized
• 15 644 investigations initiated
• 6 801 migrant smugglers arrested
• identification of 7 500 victims of trafficking of human beings

EMPACT optimises coordination and cooperation on crime priorities affecting EU Member States. Crime fighting actions are carried out by law enforcement and judicial authorities at national level supported by EU Institutions and EU Agencies, including eu-LISA. Where relevant, public and private sector organisations, international bodies and third countries are involved as well.

EMPACT and eu-LISA

As a contribution to EMPACT, eu-LISA has organised training sessions on the role of Eurodac and SIS in tackling the facilitation of illegal immigration. With regard to the 2022-2025 priorities, eu-LISA has announced its participation in the cyberattacks, migrant smuggling and firearms trafficking.

Background

EMPACT stands for the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats. It ensures an integrated approach to EU internal security, involving measures that range from investigations, external border controls, police, customs and judicial cooperation to information management, innovation, training, prevention and the external dimension of internal security, as well as public-private partnerships where appropriate.

Further Information

• The EU’s fight against serious crime (background information)
  
• EMPACT 2023 Results (factsheets)
  
• EMPACT 2023 Results (Video)
  
• eu-LISA and EMPACT
  

Starting on 1 July until the end of 2024, Hungary will be holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with its main goals focusing on the need to address economic, political, as well as social aspects. 

In particular, the programme of the Hungarian Presidency will target seven central priorities:

• A New European Competitiveness Deal

• The Reinforcement of the European Defence Policy

• A Consistent and Merit-Based Enlargement Policy

• Stemming Illegal Migration

• Shaping the Future of the Cohesion Policy

• A farmer-centered EU Agricultural Policy

• Addressing demographic challenges

These priorities are in line with the trio programme, which was jointly developed along with representatives of Belgium and Poland (the countries holding the presidency before and after Hungary, constituting a 'trio').

Additionally, throughout the period of the Hungarian presidency, numerous political, economic and social events are scheduled to take place, actively focusing on the set priorities.

János Bóka, Hungarian Minister of European Union Affairs, and Zoltán Kovács, Government Commissioner for the 2024 Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, presented the programme at a press conference held on 18 June, underlining that "Europe is facing shared challenges such as the war in our neighbourhood, global competition, a fragile security situation, illegal migration, natural disasters, the effects of climate change, and the demographic situation". 

The Hungarian government has chosen a logo which is based on a world-famous Hungarian invention, the Rubik's cube, created by the Hungarian Ernő Rubik. The three-dimensional mechanical logic game celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It symbolises the Hungarian nation's ingenuity, creativity, strategic thinking and sophistication. To complete the cube requires strategic insight, patience, discipline and precision - all qualities that are essential for Hungary's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

For more info, visit the Presidency´s dedicated website, and consult the full Programme of the Presidency.

​The next edition of the eu-LISA Industry Roundtable entitled “Going to the Cloud: Why it matters for the EU public sector and how to make it work" will take place on 11-12 June in Antwerp, Belgium, and will also be streamed online. The event is being organised in cooperation with the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU and will feature discussions from industry experts and EU institutions.

The two-day event will focus on the growing importance of cloud technologies in transforming public sector operations. Cloud solutions have experienced a surge in popularity due to their potential to increase efficiency, reduce costs and revolutionise service The Industry Roundtable will serve as a platform to address pressing issues and explore opportunities within the evolving cloud landscape. Key topics on the agenda include:

• Ensuring security, privacy and sovereignty in cloud adoption.
• Addressing the challenges of interoperability and standardisation.
• Presenting cloud adoption models tailored to the EU public sector.
• Evaluating on-premises hosting versus off-premises and hybrid hosting strategies.
• Optimise network performance and responsiveness for seamless cloud integration.
• Driving digital transformation and innovation through cloud technologies.

Through engaging presentations and discussions, the roundtable aims to provide participants with valuable insights into the EU's stance on cloud technologies, the diverse range of cloud options available, and the practical experiences from industry and other public sector organisations. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how cloud solutions can be strategically applied to their unique use cases to deliver tangible benefits and efficiencies.

The event will feature distinguished speakers and thought leaders from various sectors:

Day One Highlights:

• Opening remarks by Agnès Diallo, eu-LISA Executive Director and Philippe Rosseel, representing the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU
• Keynote presentation by Georgii Dubynskyi the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
• Session I “Setting the Scene”, featuring Manuel Mateo Goyet from DG CNECT of the European Commission and Uku Särekanno from Frontex
• Panel discussion featuring experts from DG CNECT, Frontex, and eu-LISA
• Session II “Cloud sovereignty: the hyperscalers’ perspective” including OVHcloud, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle.

Day Two Agenda:

• Session III “Exploring cloud security and privacy with contributions from the EU Agency for Cybersecurity”, featuring T-Systems, Red Hat Inc, Amazon Web Services, and Nutanix
• Session IV “Sovereign cloud adoption models and interoperability” will provide insights from Cloud Acceleration Service, EMA, NTT DATA, Thales, Accenture, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise
• Session V “Sovereign cloud as an enabler of innovation and digital transformation”, featuring case studies from Spain’s Digital Transformation of the Justice Administration, Fujitsu, Dynatrace, and OpenNebula Systems.

Background information

The eu-LISA Industry Roundtable aims to bring together industry representatives, Member States’ authorities and EU institutions; providing a forum for eu-LISA stakeholders to exchange views on developments of different technologies in particular when applied to the migration and home affairs’ domain.

Industry experts contribute through presentations on the selected topic, featuring their experiences, pioneering technologies, products and services addressing the Member States’ capability gaps in the specific area of interest.

eu-LISA currently operates three large-scale IT systems – Eurodac, the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) – and is working on the development the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information Authorisation System (ETIAS). These systems are being built and adapted to ensure interoperability - improved access to information stored in EU information systems and identity management at an EU level. In addition, the Agency’s portfolio has been enlarged within the justice domain: with the development of the European Criminal Records Information System - Third-Country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN), the management of e-CODEX and the development of the Collaboration Platform for Joint Investigation Teams (JITs).

Today, the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security publishes its first report on encryption. The report highlights the importance of recognising the benefits of encryption for privacy, while acknowledging the challenges this technology poses in the fight against serious organised crime and terrorism. The aim is to promote a constructive discussion on encryption and to find a balanced solution to protect individuals and society from malicious actors. 

The report has been prepared in cooperation with Europol, Eurojust, eu-LISA, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator and the European Commission's Directorates-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) and Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME).

Data protection is at the core of eu-LISA's mandate and as such an absolute priority for the Agency. In this area, data encryption plays a key role in providing an extra layer of security for the sensitive information managed by the Agency. For this reason, eu-LISA is proud to have contributed to the first encryption report of the EU Innovation Hub, together with other members of the Hub. The report also highlights the important role of the EU Innovation Hub for the internal security community.

Among other contributions to the EU Innovation Hub's first encryption report, eu-LISA is the lead author of the section on biometric encryption, which provides a general overview of the current state of the art in biometric template protection approaches, one of the most researched topics in the field of biometric recognition today.

Key findings from the report include:

• The necessity of establishing legal frameworks for lawful access to data and the use of encrypted communications in judicial proceedings to strike a balance between privacy and security.
• The need for continued research and monitoring on cryptography-related technologies, such as telecommunications (5G, 6G networks), biometrics, DNS, blockchain, and quantum computing, to ensure both lawful access to data and privacy.
• The importance of collaboration with academia and private industry in developing new tools to aid law enforcement investigations without compromising overall communication security.
• The dual role of artificial intelligence solutions in supporting and challenging law enforcement efforts against serious and organised crime, necessitating a multifaceted and collaborative approach.
• The potential of quantum computing to enhance investigations, alongside its threat to encryption, requiring a swift transition to post-quantum cryptography.

For more information on the report and its findings, please visit the Publications - Reports section of our website.