16 Jul Stronger together – Cross-border collaboration to combat crime and terrorism
Non-EU nationals arriving in many EU Member States this summer will continue to experience long delays due to the implementation of the new digital border system. Under the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) travellers from outside the bloc must register biometric information when entering most European countries, which is checked when they leave.
The EU has been gradually introducing new border checks since October last year, creating a digital record of when non‑EU residents travel to the Schengen area for a short stay (up to 90 days in a rolling 180‑day period) and when they leave.
To register for EES for the first time, a photo of your face will be taken and your passport scanned. Adults and children aged 12 and over will also have their fingerprints scanned.
The EES is now operational in 29 European countries, and includes all EU Member States except Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It has been introduced to strengthen border security from all manner of threats impacting Europe.
Threat vectors
According to the Annual Risk Analysis published by Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, the primary threat at EU external borders includes persistent migratory pressure, the dangers of infiltration by high-risk individuals, cross-border crime, and the intensification of hybrid threats that serve to weaken European unity and democracy.
Standing at the forefront of protecting EU borders, Frontex provides EU Member States with accurate, reliable and timely information to safeguard Europe’s borders and uphold its values. Hans Leijtens Executive Director of Frontex states: “At a time of profound geopolitical uncertainty and evolving security challenges, the European Union’s external borders demand vigilance, adaptability, and above all, foresight.”
The EES forms part of EU’s border growing security vigilance in creating a rich picture of who is in, travelling through, or remaining in the bloc. To ensure this vigilance is achieved, Frontex recognises that it cannot combat all security threats alone, it must work in close collaboration with a range of stakeholders to be effective.
In a world of shifting risks, Frontex acknowledges that trustworthy information is Europe’s strongest protection. By delivering a clear and balanced picture of the threats and trends at Europe’s external borders, Frontex empowers Member States to take informed, strategic action. Strengthening Europe’s security starts with knowledge, and through reliable data, continuous alertness, and shared responsibility, EU border agencies will be better prepared to meet the challenges ahead.
Cooperation culture
Against the backdrop of increasingly complex security challenges, the importance of timely intelligence, robust contingency planning, and coordinated border management has never been greater. It is the coordination and increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies which provides a strengthened security posture at borders.
Through a series of mechanisms, the EU actively encourages and embraces greater operational law enforcement collaboration which refers to the practical cooperation and coordination between law enforcement authorities in different EU countries to combat cross-border crime and maintain public safety.
This cooperation involves conducting joint operations or investigations, harmonising operational procedures, and providing support in addressing cross-border crime. Operational cooperation between EU countries’ law enforcement authorities is considered crucial in ensuring security within the EU.
The European Commission and EU law enforcement agencies, such as Europol and Frontex, enhance and support operational cooperation through initiatives that include the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), implementing existing EU legislation on cross-border cooperation, such as joint operations against cross-border crime, and providing specific support to EU countries through law enforcement agencies.
This culture of cooperation between law enforcement agencies is further facilitated by the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation framework under Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) which are designed to support activities that strengthen research and innovation ecosystems in security.
CSA’s do not fund core research or technological development but typically focuses on coordination and promotion, involving a wide range of stakeholders and include policy development, knowledge exchange stakeholder engagement, training and the dissemination of results. Now that the UK can engage fully with the Horizon Europe security programme, all police, border, probation and prison authorities can participate in CSA’s which offer unique partnership development opportunities.
Learning legacy
An excellent example of a CSA is NOTIONES (iNteracting netwOrk of inTelligence and securIty practitiOners with iNdustry and acadEmia actorS), a 5-year initiative funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Secure Societies programme which commenced in 2021.
The requirement for NOTIONES was to build a network of practitioners from security and intelligence services of EU Members States and associated countries, with the objective to support the needs of their security and intelligence services for future security research programming.
To address these requirements, the NOTIONES consortium includes 32 partners, including 15 practitioners from military, civil, financial, judiciary, local, national and international polices, coming from 9 EU Member States and 6 associated countries.
A number of the NOTIONES practitioner partners came from national law enforcement agencies including the Swedish Police Authority, Policia Judiciaria of Portugal, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Hellenic Police from Greece, and the Police and Border Guard of Estonia, all of whom have previously shared their insights and collaborative approaches and engagement in research and innovation with interviews for Policing Insight.
As the NOTIONES initiative comes to a close in August, it leaves a legacy of learning resources, including a suite of accessible whitepapers covering critical security topics from tackling terrorist content online, next generation open-source intelligence (OSINT) to intelligence ethics.
Moreover, as part of the NOTIONES project a total of six international conferences were held in Brussels, Bilbao, Madrid, Rome and Lille, and most recently as a partner in delivering the Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) conference at Swansea University. The objective of the NOTIONES conferences has been to establish an expanding network of professionals dedicated to discuss and address long-standing intelligence and security challenges from which strategic and sustainable partnerships have been developed.
Besides encouraging dialogue, exchange and greater cooperation between practitioners, policy makers, academia and industry in the fields of intelligence and security, the conferences have also provided updates on the latest findings and results of NOTIONES activities.
All of the NOTIONES conferences throughout the last five years have served to underline the value of collaboration. In the final NOTIONES session at the TASM conference last month, NOTIONES partners from LAUREA University of Applied Sciences in Finland stressed how European networks can better connect law enforcement, researchers, industry, and policymakers, not only highlighting the importance of long-term trust-building between all stakeholders but that security is strengthened wherever there is greater operational cooperation to combat all manner of threats together.
Author(s):
Source(s): “Stronger together: Cross-border collaboration to combat crime and terrorism” (published 8 July 2026), https://policinginsight.com/feature/stronger-together-cross-border-collaboration-to-combat-crime-and-terrorism/