This database contains the research papers produced by the European Parliament's different research services, in particular studies and notes from policy departments as well as reports, briefing notes and assessments from the Impact Assessment and the European Added Value units and from STOA. These documents aim to support the work of the various parliamentary bodies.
The policy departments deliver a wide range of expertise, comprising studies on complex legislative issues, comparative notes and short background briefings. They serve a variety of purposes: they can feed directly into the legislative work of a specific committee or serve as a briefing for delegations of MEPs. Some of this research is carried out by external experts selected through competitive tendering, i.e. the leading academics or consultants in a specific field.
Directorate G, within the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Internal Policies, provides a broad range of products in the field of impact assessment, as well as completely new services with respect to European Added Value and Cost of non-Europe. EP committees can commission a variety of reports, briefing notes and assessments in these fields to support their work.
STOA contributes to the debate on strategic scientific and technological issues of political relevance and the policy options for tackling them through projects of a medium to long-term, interdisciplinary character, as well as information and dialogue activities, whose outcomes are relevant to Parliament in its role as legislator. Its reports are available in the database.
New Trends in the Expansion of Western Balkan Organized Crime
Summary : The note demonstrates the growing importance of the "South East hub" for the trafficking of illicit commodities to and from the European Union, analyses the factors which led to the rise in international stature of Western Balkan organized crime and predicts that the massive presence of irregular immigrants in the southern part of the European Union combined with the sinking into recession of this region will almost certainly provide another opportunity for the Western Balkan organized crime groups and their global expansion.
Authors : Andreas-Renatus HARTMANN (Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium)
Committees : Area of freedom, security and justice, Organised crime, corruption and money laundering