On 23 January, in the context of the European Year of Youth, Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and a group of young people from all over Europe held a policy dialogue ‘’Protect young people from organised crime’’.
Seventeen young participants working in law enforcement and civil society shared their experiences on combating organised crime and how to cooperate between the EU, NGOs, law enforcement and social services. Special focus was given to the importance of helping young people stay safe from organised crime. The Commissioner shared some opening remarks, drawing from her childhood in Stockholm, as well as her long career in politics.
Participants identified many causes that lead young people to be vulnerable to organised crime, such as poor neighbourhoods, low levels of employment, criminals’ creativity in how to entice and exploit, political instability and corruption, the normalisation of drug use, toxic role models on social media, and gave their suggestions and solutions.
The objective of the series of the Youth Policy Dialogue is for the young participants to learn about EU policy in the different areas and to contribute with their practical knowledge and thoughts on how the work of the EU can better lead to practical improvements in their countries and areas of expertise.
Videos from the Youth Policy Dialogue
- Despoina Kontompasi, Trainee lawyer and LLM student in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Greece
- Major Guimarães da Silva, Law enforcement, Portugal
- Lieutenant María del Mar Méndez San Martín, Law enforcement, Spain
- Alen Arapovic, Gangway, Germany
Details
- Publication date
- 8 February 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs