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On 10 December 2020, the public was informed of the operation “Shield” carried out between March and September 2020. The operation resulted in the seizure of medicines and doping substances worth €73 million all over Europe. Nearly 700 persons were arrested, 25 organised criminal groups …

Thanks to OLAF, information about contaminated hand sanitisers from a manufacturer in Turkey could be spread among EU law enforcement authorities and shipments dismantled. In August 2020, Danish authorities first detected the contaminated sanitisers and reported to OLAF. The EU’s anti-fraud office immediately informed other …

On 21 December 2020, OLAF reported that the final phase of a long-term trans-European operation against illegal cigarette smuggling and production ended by raids in Romania, Hungary and Italy. The operation dubbed “Kharon” started three years ago and targeted the carriers of the precursors for …

On 21 December 2020, OLAF and Europol reported on a successful European-wide joint operation against fraudulent trade in cigarettes. The operation took place in November 2020 and involved 15 EU Member States and the UK. Europol and OLAF facilitated the operation by intelligence analyses, …

OLAF received a new legal framework. New Regulation 2020/2223 amends the current Regulation 883/2013 and adapts OLAF's operational work to the establishment of the EPPO, enhances the effectiveness of OLAF's investigations and simplifies/clarifies certain current provisions.

At the videoconference of the Ministers of Justice of the EU Member States on 2 December 2020 – the last Justice Council meeting that was chaired by the German Presidency – participants above all discussed justice-related aspects in the fight against terrorism and the development …

On 15 December 2020, the Commission tabled two important proposals that will establish horizontal, harmonised rules on governing digital services in the EU. They are part of the European Digital Strategy, Shaping Europe’s Digital Future; the package will complement the European Democracy Action Plan …

35 years ago, on 14 June 1985, France, Germany and the three Benelux States signed the Schengen Agreement that removed internal border controls between those Member States. Today, the Schengen area encompasses 26 European states with over 400 million citizens. Since several years, the area …

Ahead of the newly created Schengen Forum (--> separate news item), the Commission published a report on 25.11.2020 on the implementation of the Schengen acquis rules and the functioning of the Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism between 2015 and 2019. The current Schengen Evaluation and …

In December 2020, the EP adopted its position on the contentious Commission proposals on gathering electronic evidence at IT companies. Now, trilogue negotiations can start between the EP, the Council and the Commission.