This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Towards a general policy on the fight against cybercrime
As the internet has become part of our everyday lives, so too the internet user has become vulnerable to criminals often operating on other continents. In light of the rapid increase in cybercrime*, the European Commission, in 2007, prepared the ground for a comprehensive policy to tackle it.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions: Towards a general policy on the fight against cyber crime (COM(2007) 267 final of 22.5.2007)
It sought to present a general policy to better coordinate the fight against cybercrime.
Objective and actions
This was to strengthen the fight against cybercrime at national, European and international levels by:
Improved operational law enforcement cooperation by strengthening and clarifying responsibilities between Europol, Eurojust and other structures.
Coordinated and interlinked training programmes for EU countries’ law enforcement and judicial authorities involving Europol, Eurojust, the European Police College and the European Judicial Training Network.
Better political cooperation and coordination between EU countries by creating a permanent EU contact point for information exchange and an EU cybercrime training platform.
Political and legal cooperation withnon-EU countries via the Council of Europe’s 2001 Convention on cybercrime (and its Additional Protocol), the G8 Lyon-Roma High-Tech Crime Group and Interpol-administered projects.
Improved public-private sector dialogue to create mutual confidence and share relevant information.
Standardising EU countries’ legislation and definitions in the area of cybercrime.
Developing measures/indicators of the extent of cybercrime.
Raising awareness of the dangers and costs of cybercrime.
EU research programmes, such as under the Internal Security Fund - Police.
These include:
For more information see the European Commission's web pages on cybercrime.
Article 68 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, which came into force in 2009, formally recognised the European Council's pre-eminent role in lawmaking in the area of home affairs. This allows action against cybercrime to be complemented by EU laws and more wide-ranging initiatives.
Cybercrimes: criminal acts committed using electronic communications networks and information systems or against such networks and systems.
It may be broken down into 3 forms:
Joint communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Cybersecurity Strategy of the European Union: An Open, Safe and Secure Cyberspace (JOIN (2013) 1 final of 7 February 2013).
last update 26.05.2015