Europol supports Member States in countering serious and organised crime and terrorism.
Europol supports the fight against all serious and organised crimes, including terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, cybercrime, child sexual abuse, money laundering and migrant smuggling.
The Agency provides technical, analytical and operational support, notably by enabling effective information exchange, providing operational analysis and deploying analysts and specialists on the ground for technical support in agreement with EU Member States for ongoing operations.
As these topics require specialised expertise that not all Member States have in-house, Europol is organised around six operational centres: Operational and Analysis Centre, European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, European Cyber Crime Centre, European Counter Terrorism Centre, European Financial, Economic Crime Centre and European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling. In 2025 Europol supported 3 328 operations.
One of Europol’s main strengths is its capability to analyse and process data. Europol’s specialised systems offer fast and secure ways to acquire, store, search, visualise and link criminal information. More than 3800 law enforcement authorities are now connected to Europol’s secure information exchange channel, known as SIENA (Secure Information Exchange Network Application).
The Europol Information System is Europol’s main reference system that supports Member States, Europol and its partners in the fight against organised crime, terrorism, and other forms of serious crime. It contains 1.7 million items.
As the EU’s focal point for expertise, tactics and analysis used during law enforcement operations, Europol has established a dedicated Innovation Lab to support the law enforcement community in innovation and technology.
External cooperation
To support Member States in combatting serious crime and terrorism, Europol also cooperates closely with partners outside of the Union.
In line with its legal mandate, Europol can conclude working arrangements with non-EU country partners, which enable cooperation through the connection to SIENA as well as the deployment of Liaison officers at the Agency’s headquarters, while governing the practical aspects of exchanging non-personal data and regulating all other elements of their cooperation. The working arrangements cannot be the legal basis to exchange personal data.
The exchange of personal data between Europol and expert partners takes place on the basis of international agreements concluded by the Union or international cooperation agreements that Europol had concluded under its previous legal regime. The first international agreement by the Union with New Zealand entered into application on 15 August 2024.
The Commission has also received the authorisation from the Council of the EU to negotiate similar agreements with Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru (in 2023) and with Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Türkiye (in 2018). The international agreement with Brazil was signed on 5 March 2025, and the procedures for its entry into application are ongoing. The agreement with Ecuador, signed on 23 September 2025, entered into force on 8 April 2026, and is currently in the process of entering into application.
Europol’s new mandate: Fighting crime across borders
Crime is evolving: criminal and terrorist networks operate across borders with increasing speed, scale and sophistication. Staying ahead of these threats requires law enforcement across the EU to be equally agile. In June 2026, the Commission proposed a new mandate for Europol in line with President von der Leyen’s 2024-2029 Political Guidelines and the 2025 ProtectEU Internal Security Strategy. The proposal aims to equip the Agency with the relevant analytical, operational and innovation capabilities to effectively support EU countries in tackling serious and organised crime and terrorism.
Key novelties
More efficient and secure information exchange
- Automated and faster information sharing between Europol and Member States enabling real-time collaboration on investigations.
- New Police Shared Data Space allowing police in Member States to work in real-time on the same case remotely.
- New cloud infrastructure giving Europol and Member States secure access to Europol’s IT tools, collaboration and data-processing capabilities.
Stronger operational support
- Centres of specialised expertise to ensure operational support to Member States on priority crime areas.
- New Europol Support Offices in Member States to better integrate Europol’s expertise and tools into national investigations.
Technology and innovation hub
- First ever EU-wide picture of capability needs for law enforcement.
- Joint research, shared capabilities and investment in strategic technologies to reduce critical dependencies.
- Faster deployment of innovative technologies from research to operational use by law enforcement across the EU.
Stronger partnerships
- Supporting EPPO investigations through Europol’s analytical capabilities to better protect the Union’s financial interests.
- Closer link between law enforcement and judicial cooperation by strengthening coordination and information-sharing between Europol and Eurojust.
- Deepening cooperation with EU agencies and bodies, including eu-LISA, Frontex, the EU Drugs Agency, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity.
- Enhanced international cooperation, with Schengen associated countries and international partners.