What is EMPACT?
EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats) is a collaborative security initiative led by EU Member States to address serious and organised international crime. EMPACT enables the identification, prioritisation, and coordination of efforts to combat significant criminal threats across Europe.
Ireland's involvement in EMPACT (including external bodies such as the Revenue Commissioners, CAB, Dept. of Justice, etc.) is under the strategic direction of Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, Organised & Serious Crime (OSC), who serves as the National EMPACT Coordinator (NEC). She is supported by an alternative NEC and a National EMPACT Support Team (NEST), both located in OSC.
Ireland is actively involved in all ten EMPACT Operational Action Plans (OAPs) and 143 Operational Actions (OAs). Ireland holds a leadership role in six OAs.
How does EMPACT Work?
Every four years, Europol publishes the European Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (EU-SOCTA) report, based on input provided by Member States and other stakeholders, including Eurojust. The EU SOCTA identifies the major criminal threats affecting the European Union.
The EU SOCTA is then used by the European Commission and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union to advise Justice and Home Affairs ministers so they adopt the EU crime priorities being addressed by EMPACT over the following four years.
A multi-annual strategic plan and set of goals are drawn up based on these key priorities to form the basis of Operational Action Plans (OAPs). Each OAP contains a set of operational actions contributing to the objectives of each OAP.
For each OAP, so-called drivers and co-drivers are appointed who oversee the planning with assistance from national coordinators. Concrete operational actions are organised for the particular targeted crime areas, leading to joint operational actions days or weeks.
The process is constantly monitored and fully evaluated at the end of each cycle.
EMPACT Cycle 2026-2029
The following are the Operational Action Plans identified for the 2026-2029 cycle:
- OAP 1: Most Threatening Criminal Networks and Individuals (MTCN-I)
- OAP 2.1: Cyber-attacks (CYBER)
- OAP 2.2: Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
- OAP 2.3: Online Fraud Schemes (OFS)
- OAP 3.1: Cannabis, Cocaine and Heroin (CCH)
- OAP 3.2: Synthetic Drugs / New Psychoactive Substances (SYD-NPS)
- OAP 4.1: Migrant Smuggling (MIGR)
- OAP 4.2: Trafficking in Human Beings (THB)
- OAP 5: Firearms and Explosives Crimes (FI-X)
- OAP 6: Environmental Crimes (ENVI)
- OAP 7.1: Value-added tax (VAT) and missing trader intra-community (MTIC) Fraud
- OAP 7.3 Intellectual property (IP) crime, counterfeiting of goods and currencies
- OAP 7.2 Excise and Customs Fraud (EXCISE)
The above named OAPs are further broken down into Operation Actions(OAs). Ireland has signed up 143 Operation Actions, 3 of which we are leading and 3 of which we are co-leading.
National EMPACT Support Team (NEST)
The National EMPACT Support Team liaise with Europol regarding information exchange related to criminal investigations via its Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA), and additionally the EMPACT support team in Europe. The co-ordination of CEPOL courses in conjunction with the International Training Department in the Garda College is also facilitated by the NEST. The NEST attend regular LEWP Police and Custom (Law Enforcement Working Party) and COSI (Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security) meetings at the European Council in Brussels. The NEST also liaise directly with Department of Justice, Revenue, The HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Authority), the ILB (Irish Liaison Bureau) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding matters related to the EMPACT Operational Actions.
The National EMPACT Support Team office is located in Walter Scott House, Military Road, Dublin 8 and can be contacted by emailing Empact@garda.ie
For more information on the evolution of EMPACT please visit EU Policy Cycle - EMPACT | Europol (europa.eu) or alternatively EMPACT Information Leaflet
