EUROPOL’S ALLIES 2026 EXERCISE: STRENGTHENING CROSS-BORDER LAW ENFORCEMENT

From 9 to 12 February 2026, Europol hosted the multinational exercise Allies 2026, bringing together police units, special intervention teams, and surveillance experts from twelve EU Member States to test their ability to operate seamlessly across borders in complex, real-world scenarios. The exercise combined two parallel operations: Operation Shamrock, focused on tracking individuals involved in cross-border drug trafficking between Ireland, the Netherlands, France, and back to Ireland; and Operation Cargill, which simulated efforts to prevent coordinated attacks on critical infrastructure spanning Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Romania. The participating teams were required to maintain continuous situational awareness and hand over intelligence and operational responsibilities smoothly as targets moved between jurisdictions.

The exercise highlighted the value of interoperable networks, as teams relied on the ATLAS Network for tactical support in high-risk interventions, the European Surveillance Group (ESG) for advanced surveillance coordination, and the EIFS Network for in-flight security expertise, demonstrating how specialized knowledge can be shared effectively to increase operational success. Europol’s coordination room in The Hague, alongside tools such as the EU-funded tactical communications platform NEOS, provided the technological and logistical backbone that allowed participants to track targets in real time, synchronize operations, and ultimately achieve the arrests planned in the scenarios.

By combining complex surveillance, cross-border coordination, and rapid intervention, Allies 2026 not only tested the practical capabilities of participating law enforcement agencies but also reinforced the institutional and technological frameworks that underpin EU-wide cooperation, illustrating how realistic exercises can drive improvements in interoperability, trust, and readiness that are essential for tackling organized crime and hybrid threats across Europe.

Author(s): Francesca Foliti, Agency for the Promotion of the European Research

Sources:  https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/never-out-of-sight-allies-exercise-pursues-targets-across-europe.