20
May
2026
Watch
Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, from the streets in Antwerp, to the neighbourhoods in Marseille or Brussels, via Snapchat, TikTok, but also Roblox, these places where our children and teenagers are on a daily basis are also used by criminal networks to recruit them and to commit the worst crimes and illegal activities. Crimes, murders that are being perpetrated more and more in Europe. Our collective security in the face of organized crime is at risk, but so is the security of our children. They are above all victims of this criminal exploitation, which should really awaken our collective conscience and mobilise us also at European level to counter this phenomenon effectively. Regrettably, repressive and security responses do not bear the brunt of the scale of this problem. Putting a child in prison means ensuring that his or her future belongs to crime and making him or her lose hope of any better future. The criminal response must be adapted and is not sufficient in itself. The observation is scathing: where the state disengages, organized crime thrives. Amine Kessaci, in Marseille, who lost her two brothers, knows this all too well. We must restore the state in our cities, villages and neighbourhoods; massive reinvestment in our schools and social services; avoid stalls; prevent recruitment through fieldwork; regulating platforms; Helping victims and supporting youth protection and child welfare teams who are doing incredible work, but with limited resources.