In a written answer on 23 June 2026, Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner detailed the European Commission's efforts to prevent and combat the online recruitment of minors by criminal networks, a growing concern across Member States. The response, addressed to MEP Ana Miguel Pedro (PPE), who had flagged cases in Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Portugal where minors were allegedly recruited via digital platforms to commit violent crimes, outlines a multi-pronged approach combining legislation, operational cooperation and platform enforcement.
Brunner highlighted key legislative initiatives, including the proposed regulation to combat child sexual abuse (COM(2022) 209) and the recast of Directive 2011/93/EU (COM(2024) 60), which aim to strengthen prevention, detection and investigation. At the operational level, he cited Europol's Operational Task Force GRIMM, which has arrested 280 suspects, including six high-value targets, and the Internet Referral Unit's work to identify and remove recruitment campaigns. The Commission has also opened formal proceedings against Snapchat under the Digital Services Act. A Ministerial Meeting of the EU Internet Forum on 4 March 2026 brought together platforms, civil society and Member States to discuss protecting minors from exploitation for terrorism, child sexual abuse and organised crime. Brunner further announced that the Commission is preparing an action plan on the protection of children from crime to promote a coherent, child-centred approach both online and offline.
the Commission is intensifying both regulatory and operational tools to address the online radicalisation and criminal recruitment of minors, with a focus on cross-border cooperation and platform accountability. The upcoming action plan is expected to provide a more structured framework for Member States. However, the answer remains largely declarative on concrete new measures beyond existing proposals and ongoing operations, leaving details of the action plan to be specified later.