The European Commission has opened a €16.55 million funding call for projects designed to help disrupt organised crime, drug trafficking and trafficking in human beings, with applications open until 3 September 2026.
The call for proposals was published on 21 May and will co-fund work by police and other law enforcement bodies, as well as civil society organisations and other public and private groups involved in efforts to dismantle criminal networks and their business models, the Commission announced.
Projects can focus on improving the intelligence picture on criminal networks, supporting cross-border and financial investigations, developing crime prevention measures that tackle criminal infiltration, and dismantling networks involved in trafficking in human beings in the EU.
The Commission said organised criminal groups use violence, corruption and intimidation to generate profits, while hiding assets through schemes outside the formal financial system and using laundered money to infiltrate the legal economy.
Drug trafficking — including the production of illicit drugs — is among the most profitable crimes and is linked to violence, health harms and environmental damage.
Trafficking in human beings and linked crimes
Trafficking in human beings is the second most widespread illicit economy in the world and involves about 10,000 victims in the EU each year, the Commission said.
It is often connected to other offences including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, organised property crime, money laundering and document fraud.
The funding call sits under the EU’s Internal Security Fund work programme for 2023 – 2027.
