1. A decisive judicial response to cross border crime

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the world so profoundly in 2020, judicial authorities across the European Union and beyond continued to intensify their cooperation and provide a decisive judicial response to serious cross-border crimes and terrorism.

In close partnership with law enforcement and other partners in the criminal justice chain, judicial authorities used Eurojust as a hub to connect and share information, drawing on the support of tailored instruments, judicial cooperation expertise and funding.

This cooperation contributed to the arrest of 2 200 suspects, the freezing of EUR 1.9 billion in criminal assets and the seizure of drugs worth EUR 3 billion.

Operational outcomes in 2020*

Operational outcomes in 2020

2 209 suspects
arrested and/or
surrendered

905 agreements
on where to prosecute
a suspect

1 276 witnesses
(250 witness hearings
by video conference)

EUR 1.9 billion in
criminal assets seized

EUR 3 billion worth of
drugs seized

Drugs seized
32 976 kg cocaine
35 638 kg cannabis
9 182 kg heroin
874 151 kg synthetic drugs

2 209
suspects arrested
and/or surrendered

EUR 3 billion
worth of drugs seized

905
agreements on where to
prosecute a suspect

1 276
witnesses heard
(250 witness hearings
by video conference)

EUR 1.9 billion
in criminal assets seized

Drugs seized
32 976 kg cocaine
35 638 kg cannabis
9 182 kg heroin
874 151 kg synthetic drugs

Scale of challenge

In 2020, prosecutors from across the EU turned to Eurojust for support in cross-border criminal investigations involving:

12 722 suspects
1 534 cases connected to organised criminal groups
EUR 14.5 billion in damages
94 651 victims of crime

Practical support

8 799 cross-border criminal investigations were supported by Eurojust in 2020, representing a 13% increase in its caseload compared to the previous year.
1 519 rapid responses were delivered to judicial cooperation requests.
1 360 cases involved large-scale operations.

Judicial cooperation tools

A key aspect of Eurojust’s casework involves supporting national authorities in the application of European judicial instruments and tools. In 2020, this included:

1 284 European Arrest Warrant (EAW) cases
3 159 cases with European Investigation Orders (EIOs)
262 joint investigation teams
3 367 Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) cases

* Some of these operational outcomes were achieved through cases that were opened before 2020 and were also included in the reporting on operational outcomes in Eurojust’s 2019 Annual Report. The outcomes of these cases are included again in the reporting on 2020, since the cases were still ongoing.

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