04/2026/ONS: Organised crime - combatting evolving organised crime - regional - North

The aim of this onsite activity is to 

• enhance the investigation and strategic capabilities of experienced law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and law enforcement educators in the Nordic and Baltic regions, by deepening their understanding of how organised crime groups use crime-as-a-service and violence-as-a-service methods.
• improve the knowledge of participants on how OCGs recruit youth online and what methods are used to fight and prevent this.

Background information on regional courses

A novelty for 2026 is the introduction of regional onsite training activities. Recognising the importance of cooperation at a decentralised level, we will be delivering courses designed to address specific regional training needs. These courses will be tailored to the needs of four selected groups of EU Member States (North, West, Central and South), covering topics under serious and organised crime, fundamental rights, and EU cross-border law enforcement cooperation.

Participation from different law enforcement professions, including police, customs, border guards and the judiciary, is encouraged. Up to three law enforcement professionals per country may take part in each activity. Regional courses are tailored to the identified needs of four specific groups of EU Member States, as outlined below:

• Regional - North: Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Denmark
• Regional - West: Ireland, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria 
• Regional - Central: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania 
• Regional - South: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus

EMPACT training activity

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Combatting new forms of organised crime requires more cooperation between police and gendarmes, customs officers, border guards, judges, and prosecutors. EU institutions, agencies and Member States work together to tackle organised and serious international crime through a permanent and key instrument: the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).

CEPOL plays a crucial role in the EMPACT mechanism through the provision of specialised training and the identification of training needs within each common security threat. Every year, CEPOL provides a comprehensive training package for each common EU crime priority consisting of onsite, online and exchange training activities.

Check more of CEPOL's EMPACT training activities here.