Europol support to fight migrant smuggling: a valued partner, but insufficient use of data sources and result measurement

Summary:

Migrant smuggling has posed a major humanitarian and security challenge for the EU in recent years. Our audit assessed whether Europol effectively supported EU Member States in dismantling criminal networks involved in organised migrant smuggling. We found that Europol’s partners appreciated its support, but weaknesses in measuring its results prevented us from fully evaluating its impact. We also found the agency’s use of available European data sources was sometimes limited. We recommend that Europol use all available data sources; enhance data exchange with its partners; improve performance monitoring and reporting of its activities on migrant smuggling; it should also make more transparent its process for prioritising cases of migrant smuggling originating in the Member States.

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