Anti-Corruption Measures

Organised crime is a rising threat in the EU, according to Europol director Rob Wainwright.

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Valentin Țigău, 24.02.2015, 13:48

Organised crime groups have been increasingly dangerous in the last 10 years, and this puts EU countries in a complex situation, said Rob Wainwright, the head of Europol.

In an interview on Radio Romania, he said that some of the groups involved originated in Romania. At the same time, he told the national channel, since that was uncovered, the national police had had a great response. He said his organization and Romanian law enforcement helped each other, preventing those groups from acting in various countries in Europe, at the same time identifying foreign criminals in Romania, as that is also a problem.

Wainwright added that Europol had the benefit of working with many Romanian police officers who have some of the most advanced knowledge and skills needed in fighting organized crime and cybercrime.

Last year, dozens of Romanian children were saved from human traffickers in Europol’s largest operation. The children were supposed to be sent abroad to beg or to be put to work. Over 1,000 people were accused of constituting organized crime, human and drug trafficking rings. The operation involved all 28 member states, Romania included.

In this country it is believed that most organized crime stems from corruption. Also, most Romanians believe that the National Anti-Corruption Directorate is one of the most solid state institutions. According to a recent poll, that organization has an 80% approval rating and is the top institution in terms of how it is perceived to fight corruption. The explanation of that result has to do both with the huge dissatisfaction caused by large-scale corruption among Romanians, as well as by the visibility and frequency with which that institution has been prosecuting corruption.

In the poll run between 5 and 10 February 2015 on a 1065 strong sample representative for Romanians aged 18 and over, the Anti-Corruption Directorate is followed by the Romanian Intelligence Service, with over 69%, the Presidency, with almost 62%, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the National Integrity Agency, the Police and the media. The government and Parliament hold the last two places in the poll.