Fighting Organised Crime in Europe’s Ports: CoESS and the EU Ports Alliance
With the stakes higher than ever in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, CoESS is actively supporting one of Europe’s most ambitious multi-stakeholder initiatives: the EU Ports Alliance (EUPA). Launched by the European Commission in January 2024, the Alliance brings together 31 major European ports, law enforcement agencies, and private stakeholders to build a unified response to a growing threat.
As the only European employer organisation representing the private security sector, CoESS contributes a unique operational perspective to the Alliance — bridging policy and practice, and emphasising the crucial role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in protecting seaports.
“This initiative is a textbook case for Public-Private Partnership,” said Catherine Piana, Director General of CoESS. “Fighting infiltration, corruption, and trafficking in European ports is not something public authorities can do alone. Private security providers are part of the solution — and the EU Ports Alliance creates a framework for that collaboration.”
A Business Case for Strategic Partnership
CoESS sees its role in the Alliance as part of a broader strategic vision for PPPs. Ports are vulnerable to infiltration, corruption, and insider threats — risks that cannot be mitigated without deep, structured cooperation between public and private actors.
Through its contribution, CoESS has:
- Shared best practices and operational insights from the private security sector
- Promoted the use of standards
- Advocated for clarity in roles and responsibilities between actors on the ground
- Supported efforts to map corruption risks and enhance information sharing
Earlier this year, CoESS compiled and submitted all relevant materials and policy inputs to the European Commission’s DG HOME, which leads the EU Ports Alliance — helping inform the next phase of action.
What’s Next: Senior Officials Meet in Gdansk
The next key milestone for the Ports Alliance will be the Senior Officials Meeting on 29 April 2025 in Gdansk, held under the Polish Presidency. This meeting will bring together senior representatives from Member States, the European Commission, Europol, and private stakeholders to review progress and define actionable next steps.
For CoESS, the meeting is an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to professional, high-quality security services in the port sector — and to ensure that private security is recognised as a vital contributor in the fight against organised crime.
“It takes a network to fight a network,” is the EUPA motto since the beginning. Catherine Piana added: “And in European ports, that network must include both public authorities and the vetted, professional private security providers who work on the ground every day.”