European countries form coalition to fight organised crime at ports
The Netherlands is joining forces with Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden to make Europe’s ports more resilient to organised crime. These seven countries are forming a coalition against organised crime called the C7. On Tuesday, 29 April, the C7 will present advice, a so-called ‘non-paper’, to the European Commission, member states and public-private partners of the European Ports Alliance at a meeting of the European Ports Alliance. This contains several recommendations for the future deployment of this alliance
Together with the other six countries, the Netherlands wants a guarantee that security at European ports is adequate everywhere, with common security standards. The C7 also thinks it is important to better detect corruption at ports. In addition, the countries consider it important to promote cooperation with source and transit countries and share information between relevant organisations.
Because of its expertise in port security, the Netherlands will play a leading role in promoting resilience in European ports. The European Ports Alliance is largely inspired by the already existing cooperation between the Netherlands and Belgium. For example, the steering committee between the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg is highlighted in the advice as a best practice with regard to cooperation between public-private partners.
Minister Van Weel (Justice and Security):
“By ensuring European ports become resilient against organised crime, we can together ensure security at our ports. Drug criminals threaten and intimidate everyone to advance their illegal practices. Think of judges, prosecutors, police officers, journalists and mayors. But workers at the port, a major transit location of drugs, must also become resilient to the practices of drug criminals. That is something we need to do together.”
By offering this advice, the C7 is exerting influence on the further development of the ambitions within the European Ports Alliance, especially in the field of public-private partnerships. This contributes to the Dutch ambition to make Europe more resilient against and unattractive to organised drug crime through international cooperation.
Originally published at https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2025/04/25/european-countries-form-coalition-to-fight-organised-crime-at-ports
