1 Executive summary 9

1.1 English 9

1.2 French 11

2 Introduction 14

2.1 Background, aims and scope of the study 14

2.2 Research questions and methodological approach 15

3 The evolution of organised crime groups as geopolitical actors 16

3.1 Novel typologies of OCG involvement in political activity 16

3.2 Summary findings 31

4 The limits of the law: Assessing the international legal framework for holding organised criminal groups to account 33

4.1 Definitional and theoretical constraints 33

4.2 State sovereignty and organised crime 35

4.3 The international legal framework 35

4.4 Summary findings 46

5 EU strategies and responses 47

5.1 Strategic framing: Internal-external security convergence 47

5.2 Policies, legislation and agencies 47

5.3 EMPACT as an integrating mechanism 51

5.4 CFSP, CSDP and external instruments relevant to OCGs’ geopolitical impact 53

5.5 Effectiveness and limitations in addressing OCGs as geopolitical actors 59

5.6 Conclusion 62

6 Conclusions and recommendations to the European Parliament 64

6.1 Policy recommendations 65

7 Bibliography 68

8 Appendix 81