CALL FOR EVIDENCE

FOR AN INITIATIVE (without an impact assessment)

Title of the initiative

European Internal Security Strategy

Lead DG – responsible unit

DG HOME.D5

Likely Type of initiative

Commission Communication to the European Parliament and the Council

Indicative Timing

Q1 2025

Additional Information

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This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by this document, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check

Political context

Decades of cooperation and integration have created a strong EU, with a free, open and democratic society based on the rule of law, and a prosperous EU single market. However, Europe today faces new and pressing geopolitical challenges – and an array of security threats from organised crime, terrorism, and other hostile state and non-state actors. Moreover, as societies change faster and grow more complex, the complexity of security threats increases as well: for every technological innovation, there are those who seek to exploit it for malicious purposes.

The European Internal Security Strategy, an initiative announced by President von der Leyen in the Political Guidelines 1 for the new Commission, will set out a comprehensive EU response covering all internal security threats, online and offline. It will ensure that security considerations are mainstreamed into EU legislation and policies. The Strategy will build on the 2020-2025 EU Security Union Strategy and complement other Commission initiatives, in particular the Preparedness Union Strategy, the White Paper on the future of Defence and the Democracy Shield.

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

During the previous Commission’s term of office (2019-2024), the Security Union Strategy provided a robust framework for building up the EU’s capacity to deal with threats. It left the EU better equipped to face security challenges than it was when it was adopted.

However, as pointed out in the latest progress report adopted in May 2024 2 , there have been profound and lasting changes in the geopolitical, economic and security context in and around the EU. The EU must stand ready to anticipate and counter incoming threats in an evolving geopolitical scenario. Criminal networks, violent extremists, terrorists and other hostile actors operate internationally and easily navigate between the digital and physical worlds. They exploit social grievances and economic inequalities, with criminal networks using extreme violence to increase profits and using corruption to infiltrate public institutions, local communities and the legal economy. This undermines trust in democratic institutions and the rule of law. There has also been a surge in new and hybrid ideologies and anti-system/anti-government extremists who expressly seek to overhaul the democratic legal order, as well as heightened terrorist threats following international geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

Global developments profoundly affect internal security. The EU has to deal with the spillover effects from evolving geopolitical power dynamics and external instability – in Ukraine following the Russian war of aggression, in the Middle East and in the Sub-Saharan region. The EU’s security is also impacted by its dependency on non-EU countries for energy, technology and IT and telecoms equipment, for example. In this challenging landscape, the EU is confronted with hybrid threats from both state and non-state actors (governments and others). Critical infrastructure, including energy grids and transportation systems, is the target of cyberattacks and sabotage, which expose vulnerabilities in the provision of essential services and seriously impact the EU’s economic security.

Moreover, the digital technology has become fundamental to all aspects of security, with most threats including a cyber element, coupled with disinformation aiming at increasing division, polarisation and mistrust in European governments and institutions. Finally, law enforcement authorities often lack proper tools for investigating illicit financial flows and preparations for attacks, or for disrupting national and transnational criminal networks with the access to the data authorities need. There is therefore a need to strengthen cross-border and international cooperation mechanisms to allow Member States to effectively tackle organised crime and terrorism.

Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check)

Legal basis

The substantive legal basis for the initiative is the provisions covering broader EU action in Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), on the area of freedom, security and justice.

Engagement with non-EU countries on the initiative is based on the following legal basis:

·common foreign and security policy / common security and defence policy: TFEU Articles 42-43;

·relations with international organisations and non-EU countries: TFEU, in particular Article 220;

·security dialogues: Treaty on European Union, Article 27(2).

This non-legislative communication does not propose any extension of EU regulatory powers or binding commitments on Member States but aims to complement and support Member States’ activities in this policy area.

Practical need for EU action

Considering the global and inter-connected environment in which criminal networks, terrorists, extremist groups and hostile state and non-state actors operate, both within and beyond the EU, as well as the increasingly grave threats to security, safety, society and the rule of law in the EU, existing Member State and EU action on freedom, security and justice is not sufficient. There is a need for further key action to protect its internal security now and in the future, and to maintain a common area of freedom, security and justice in line with the shared competences of the EU and the Member States.

Given the strong link between the internal and external aspects of security policy and given that security threats span across and beyond European borders, EU-level action is expected to bring a tangible added value to action taken by Member States individually.

B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how

The initiative is expected to provide a comprehensive and overarching plan to strengthen the EU’s internal security and announce specific actions to be carried out during this Commission’s term of office. The Strategy will also highlight the many EU achievements already in place to protect its security, and how the EU will further build on them with operational actions and legislative measures.

The Strategy will seek to mainstream security into EU policies, legislation and programmes, focusing on:

·the capacity to anticipate and act on threats;

·the need to prevent harm and protect people;

·the need to act at all levels (from the global to the local dimension); and

·the need to ensure that international cooperation benefits the internal security of the EU.

The Strategy also seeks to involve all stakeholders that can contribute to internal security in a whole-of-society approach, including private sector partners and civil society.

In concrete terms, the Strategy will strengthen the EU architecture for internal security, which involves an increase in operational capacity, with both the expansion of Europol and Frontex, coupled with discussion on the role of Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutors Office.

Furthermore, digital technology will play a substantial role in the Strategy. This includes considering measures on access to data for law enforcement and data retention, fighting cybercrime and terrorist content online, and boosting cooperation with tech platforms via the EU Internet Forum. Moreover, digital technologies and artificial intelligence offer significant opportunities for improving law enforcement capabilities and address evolving threats effectively.

As part of the Strategy, the Commission will also announce a new EU agenda on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism, including terrorism financing and a strengthened policy on prevention of radicalisation.

It will announce an EU action plan against drug trafficking, and future work to revise the rules on organised crime and to tighten the net around criminal networks.

To strengthen preparedness, an EU Critical Communication System will be announced, to improve daily operational cooperation between first responders, such as police and firefighters, in the fight against terrorism and crime and in saving lives in emergency situations.

Finally, the Strategy will highlight the need to strengthen the EU’s legal framework to address cross-cutting security challenges and hybrid threats, including border management, sabotage and espionage.

Likely impacts

The actions announced in the Strategy will provide public institutions, law enforcement, the judiciary and other public and private actors with the tools to prevent, protect themselves from and respond to security threats posed by organised crime, terrorism, and hostile state and non-state actors. It will provide more support to assist law enforcement and judicial authorities in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating serious and organised crime and terrorism, ensuring accountability and justice for victims.

The initiative will contribute to the fulfilment of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, as it aims to increase public safety and uphold the rule of law, in full respect of fundamental rights.

Future monitoring

The initiatives contained in the Internal Security Strategy will be assessed and monitored individually.

C. Better regulation

Impact assessment

This initiative is a communication and will set out a general policy approach without including specific legislative action.

Consultation strategy

For this initiative, the Commission is inviting public and private stakeholders, both in the EU and beyond, to provide views and input through this call for evidence. The initiative will take stock of findings from studies and reports, and the progress achieved under previous EU strategic documents on security policy.

Main stakeholders to be consulted include:

·EU and national-level law enforcement authorities, including customs, tax and border authorities, judicial authorities, public administrations and institutions and bodies responsible for fighting serious and organised crime, terrorism and radicalisation and for ensuring border security and cybersecurity;

·civil society organisations;

·academia;

·and private companies, including online platforms.

Input will also be expected from key international partners such as the United Nations, INTERPOL, the Financial Action Task Force and the Council of Europe.