The European Commission wants to turn Europol into a technology powerhouse, and it is ready to pay for it. On Wednesday it proposed to nearly double Europol’s budget to €3bn and expand its mandate to tackle criminals exploiting AI, encryption, and cryptocurrency. Eurojust would also get new powers to open its own investigations into cross-border crime.
Criminal networks today are cross-border, tech-savvy, and fast. They exploit AI, hide behind encryption, and move money through cryptocurrency before investigators in one country have even flagged a case to colleagues in another. European law enforcement is catching up, but not fast enough. The Commission’s package aims to close that gap before it widens further. This is the third major reform of the agency since 2020.
The proposal, the most ambitious overhaul of Europol and Eurojust in their 25-year history, would nearly double Europol’s budget from €1.9bn to €3bn and add more than 900 employees. Eurojust would receive a gradual increase of €100m over seven years. Both agencies would gain expanded mandates to tackle AI-assisted fraud, cryptocurrency crime, and encrypted communications.
Closing the gaps
The package would improve cooperation between EU agencies and national authorities — police, customs, and courts — by creating a clearer legal framework and cutting administrative burden on investigators. The number of joint investigations is expected to rise.
Tackling serious crime requires closer cooperation. Police, customs, prosecution, and courts must work together from the start of an investigation through to the final judgment. Criminal networks are sophisticated, international, and digital. “Criminals are extremely skilled at exploiting the opportunities offered by the digital world, operating effectively across borders without limitations,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty.
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Sharing data, pooling tools
Under the new rules, Europol will automate data sharing and speed up access for national investigators. Laws are lagging behind, a Commission official said. The new mandate pushes Europol into AI, cryptocurrency, and encryption, fields where criminals already operate freely. “We need to pool resources and bring technology up to the same level as criminals,” the official added.
A new technology and innovation hub will, for the first time, map the capability needs of law enforcement across the entire bloc. Tools developed there will reach national police forces directly through a new shared European police data space. The hub will focus on areas where criminals have the biggest advantage over police: AI, decryption, and cryptocurrency tracking. The aim is to pool resources and avoid building the same capability 27 times over.
A new information system will help Europol and Eurojust identify links between cases earlier and cooperate more closely with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The Commission also proposes to update the European Investigation Order (EIO), which allows judicial authorities in one member state to request evidence from another through a fast, standardised procedure.
A new European Remote Participation Order (ERPO) would allow suspects, defendants, and victims to take part in criminal hearings remotely from another EU country. The measure aims to speed up cross-border proceedings and reduce the delays that criminal networks currently exploit.
What comes next
The package highlights persistent weaknesses in the current system. For years, fragmented data sharing and outdated legal frameworks have allowed criminal networks to stay one step ahead of investigators. But the proposed expansion of EU-level data integration and surveillance capabilities is not without controversy. Giving a supranational agency broader access to personal data, even in the name of security, raises serious questions over privacy, accountability, and the balance of power between national authorities and Brussels.
This reform must not lead to mass surveillance or allow unlimited access to personal data, even when such data is publicly available. — Saskia Bricmont, MEP, (Greens/EFA/BEL)
Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA/BEL), who monitors Europol for her group in the European Parliament, said she will ensure the reform is carried out in strict compliance with fundamental rights, data protection, and the rule of law. “This reform must not lead to mass surveillance or allow unlimited access to personal data, even when such data is publicly available,” she said.
The proposals now go to the European Parliament and the Council for negotiation. If adopted, they will form the legal backbone of the EU’s updated internal security architecture, alongside the broader ProtectEU strategy adopted last year.
