20
May
2026
Watch
Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, While we are discussing here, criminal networks are already writing the next messages to minors – not by chance, but in a targeted, professional and organised way. They attract young people with fast money, status and affiliation – and turn them into drug cures, sentries or even contract killers. Recruitment through organized crime often begins today not on the street, but on the mobile phone. And we have been seeing the consequences all over Europe for a long time: Shootings in Sweden, explosions in Belgium, armed gang crime also in Germany. As a former detective, I tell you: Putting a weapon in the hands of young people early destroys their future – and jeopardises our security. That's why we finally need more legal opportunities for investigative authorities in the digital world. This is the only way we can uncover the digital recruitment spaces and hold the perpetrators behind the networks accountable. We need faster data exchange in Europe. Europol needs to become the European Data Hub – the Centre for Coordination and Cooperation. Because our security authorities can no longer fight digital cartels with analogue means. Europe must never allow children to become soldiers of criminal networks.