Answer for question E-000923/25

EN E-000923/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission (19.5.2025) The EU priorities against crime for the next European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) cycle 2026-2029 will be identified on the basis of the findings set out in the 2025 EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment report issued by Europol1. According to this report, environmental crime, including waste and pollution crimes, are a threat to the natural environment and the economy as well as to the health and safety of EU citizens. Europol supports and strengthens the actions by the competent authorities of Member States in relation to environmental crime. Environmental crime is a priority in the current EMPACT cycle. Europol set up the Analysis Project (AP) EnviCrime in 2017, which currently consists of 5 staff members and 2 short-term Seconded National Experts. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) plays an active role in the fight against environmental fraud and works closely with customs authorities to support cross-border investigations. The Waste Shipment Regulation2 has further broadened the scope for the Commission’s and OLAF’s involvement in the fight against environmental crime. As announced in the Communication ‘The road to the next multiannual financial framework’3, the Commission intends to present its proposals for the next multiannual financial framework in July 2025. At this point, the Commission cannot prejudge the content, scope...