Port security and drug trafficking: MEPs conclude visit to the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam

The Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) looked into work to strengthen port security and fight drug trafficking.

A group of MEPs from the LIBE Committee, travelled to Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to discuss how to strengthen port security. During the visits they had several meetings with local, regional and national stakeholders, visiting the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, and learning more about the public-private partnership within the EU Port Alliance. They were informed about challenges but also good practices regarding security measures, preventive actions, and staff training on the ground, including by visiting a container terminal.

After the visit, the Chair of the delegation Fabrice Leggeri (PfE, FR) said:

“The visit has given a good overview of the work that is already taking place in Antwerp and Rotterdam. We have also heard a clear request for further EU cooperation in this area in order to become more successful while at the same time provide flexibility for tailor-made approaches. The situation for the different ports is not the same due to geographical location and size and that needs to be taken into account. Sharing of data and information exchange is important: not only to counter and detect a specific criminal activity but also as a means of giving an overview of the whole situation and providing input to a strategical approach to tackle the situation at EU level. The need to find the right balance between ensuring protection of individual privacy and personal integrity on the one hand and providing the necessary tools for law enforcement and other stakeholders, including private partners, to prevent and combat drug trafficking, on the other hand, was also clear.

The visit has also shown the need for social policy and preventive action in and with local communities to reach vulnerable groups, and in schools to avoid recruitment of children and youth into criminal organisations. The importance of raising awareness and resilience in order to protect staff from being targeted by criminal gangs has also been stressed. It became clear that the fight against drug trafficking is not a cost, but an investment into security of society as a whole.

The cooperation that started some years ago between the port of Antwerp-Bruges and the Port of Rotterdam has already provided added value and the best practices and lessons learned from this cooperation can provide input for the work on EU level and in the cooperation with third countries.”

The delegation further consisted of Sandro Ruotolo (S&D, IT). During the mission to Antwerp the delegation was accompanied by Tom Vandendriessche (PfE, BE) and Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA, BE) and in the Netherlands, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle (Renew, NL) accompanied the mission.

Background

The objective of the mission was to gain insights into port security and related phenomena with a view towards the upcoming EU Ports Strategy, which is part of the European Commission’s new European Internal Security Strategy (ProtectEU). The latter, which aims to support Member States and enhance citizens' security, was presented to MEPs during the last plenary session of the Parliament in April.