EU enlargement and wildlife trade

A new Internet tool to assist EU in fight against wildlife trade crime

18 October 2005, Brussels, Belgium...EU-TWIX [1], a new online database to help law enforcers in the EU fight wildlife trade crime in Europe is being launched today. It is set to become a key tool in assisting law enforcers from the 25 EU Member States to undertake risk analysis and to better co-ordinate joint investigations relating to illegal wildlife trade.

"The system will allow enforcement officers to quickly share information on emerging fraud or specific illegal activities at the EU level," said Laurent Grolet, Chief Inspector at the Belgian Federal Police. "The information regarding a seizure made by customs or police officers in one country will be rapidly available in other EU countries, which will contribute notably to better control of cross-border criminality".

The European Community is one of the largest and most diverse markets for wildlife products in the world. Worth millions of Euros, the trade includes live animals, ornamental plants, tropical woods, food, leather, ivory, tourist curios, and wildlife-based medicines. Many of these species are regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) [2].

Although a great deal of the wildlife trade is legal, a significant portion of the trade is illegal and threatens the survival of species in the wild. Seizures made by police and customs in the EU are common and for example only last month, Belgian Customs of Zaventem airport seized a courier shipment described as "a diplomatic pouch" containing 35 kg of ivory tusks en route to China from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The absence of internal border controls in the EU’s single market underlines the importance for strict controls at the EU’s external borders and improved co-operation between the EU Member States, including enhanced information exchange among law enforcement officers. This is especially the case as illegal wildlife traders adapt quickly to changing laws and markets, and target new species for which demand is high. New smuggling methods and routes are actively sought out by offenders to avoid detection, consequently making countries with weak border controls vulnerable targets.

To complement existing data collection and information exchange systems that are already in place in the EU, co-funded by the European Commission, the Belgian Federal Police, Customs and CITES Management Authority together with TRAFFIC Europe developed the internet based EU-TWIX to which the access is granted exclusively to officials designated by the 25 Member States. EU-TWIX will host centralised information on wildlife trade seizures reported by the EU Member States, as well as information on forensics institutes, rescue centres and wildlife trade experts.

Next week an EU-level workshop will be seeking practical solutions to improve co-ordination on wildlife trade enforcement and information exchange between EU Member States. Hosted by the UK Government under its current EU presidency, the workshop will bring together more than 100 enforcement officials from all 25 EU Member States.

"The workshop will provide an excellent forum to take steps towards improved information exchange and strong co-operation on enforcement matters at EU-level", said Stephanie Theile of TRAFFIC Europe. "By making EU-TWIX accessible to law enforcers now, we hope to stimulate rapid exchange of information on illegal wildlife trade beyond country borders and ultimately for EU-TWIX to serve as an effective tool in supporting efforts to ensure that wildlife trade is not a threat to the conservation of nature."

EU-TWIX fact file

More information: Press Contact - Belgian Federal Police (Environmental Crime Service): Laurent Grolet, Chief Inspector. Tel: + 32 2 642 63 52 or Frans Geysels, Chief Commissioner. Tel: + 32 2 642 63 07 - Email

Press Contact - Belgian CITES Management Authority: (fr) Georges Evrard, Veterinaire-Director. Tél : + 32 2 524 74 00 - Email; (nl) Frans Arijs, Expert. Tel : + 32 2 524 74 02- E-mail

Press Contact - Belgian Administration of Customs and Excises: Lieven Muylaert (Communication Unit). Tel + 32 2 336.31.36 - Email

Press contact - TRAFFIC Europe: Geneviève Crémer, Communication Officer - Tel: +32 2 343 82 58 - Email