Europol published EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (EU-SOCTA) 2025, which reveals how crime in the EU is shifting and reshaping the tactics, tools and structures employed by criminal networks.
Based on intelligence from EU countries and international law enforcement partners, the report analyses the current state of organised crime and anticipates future threats to the EU’s internal security. It provides a roadmap for Europe’s law enforcement and policymakers to stay ahead of evolving organised crime.
The fastest-growing threats
The report highlights seven key areas where criminal networks are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous: cyber-attacks, online fraud schemes (increasingly driven by AI), online child sexual exploitation, migrant smuggling, drug trafficking, Firearms trafficking, and environmental crime.
Our security landscape is evolving dramatically. The SOCTA report clearly shows how serious and organised crime – and the threat it poses to our security – is also changing. We need to make every effort to protect the European Union. Our internal security strategy will address these challenges.
Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner
The report also identifies three defining characteristics of today’s serious and organised crime landscape:
Crime is increasingly destabilising
Serious and organised crime is no longer just a threat to public safety, it impacts the foundations of the institutions and society. The effects of the crime can be seen through the laundering or reinvestment of illicit proceeds, corruption, violence and the criminal exploitation of young perpetrators. Criminal networks are also increasingly operating as proxies in the service of hybrid threat actors, a cooperation which is mutually reinforcing.
Crime is nurtured online
Nearly all forms of serious and organised crime have a digital footprint, whether as a tool, target or facilitator. From cyber fraud and ransomware to drug trafficking and money laundering, the internet has become the primary place for organised crime.
Crime is accelerated by AI and emerging technologies
AI is fundamentally reshaping the organised crime landscape. Criminals rapidly exploit new technologies. The same qualities that make AI revolutionary – accessibility, adaptability and sophistication – also make it a powerful tool for criminal networks. These technologies automate and expand criminal operations, making them more scalable and harder to detect.
