Illegal shipments of waste: OLAF establishes a working group to combat this phenomenon

Saturday, Jun 14, 2025

Il Sole 24 Ore

New EU group combats illegal waste trafficking using digital tech and cross-border cooperation.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

A new European Waste Shipment Enforcement Group (WSEG) is being established to combat illegal waste trafficking by focusing on digital technologies and cross-border cooperation. The inaugural meeting, held in Warsaw, brought together about 50 stakeholders from across the EU, including environmental authorities, customs, police, and prosecutors. The group aims to strengthen operational cooperation and the effectiveness of cross-border investigations, with a particular emphasis on using digital tools for information sharing among partners. This initiative was created under a new waste shipment regulation that grants OLAF the mandate to assist member states in identifying and investigating illegal shipments and coordinating actions with third countries. The urgency of this effort is highlighted by Eurostat data showing a 72% increase in EU waste exports to non-EU countries between 2004 and today, leading the EU to adopt stricter export rules in May 2024.

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