What changed

B100058/2026

Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the murder of Mehdi Kessaci: urgent need for ambitious European action against drug trafficking

European Parliament resolution on the murder of Mehdi Kessaci – urgent need for ambitious European action against drug trafficking

Resolution tabled pursuant to Rule 136(2) of the European Parliament's Rules of procedure

(2025/3020(RSP))

References: 2025/3020(RSP) / B10-0057/2026 / P10_TA (2026)0007

– having regard to the murder of Mehdi Kessaci on 13 November 2025,

Date of adoption of the resolution: 20 January 2026

– having regard to the Commission’s statement of 15 December 2025 on the murder of Mehdi Kessaci and the urgent need for ambitious action at European level against drug trafficking,

Competent Parliamentary Committee: No

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it: The resolution strongly condemns the murder of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, victim of drug-related violence in France, and stresses the increasing violent threat, direct or indirect, posed by drug trafficking and organised criminal networks to EU’s internal security, public health, social cohesion and the rule of law. The resolution welcomes the adoption of the EU drugs strategy and the EU action plan against drug trafficking. It supports the strengthened public health and preventative approach of the strategy, the partnership approach as well as the action-oriented plan to tackle drug trafficking routes, increase drug detection and boost resilience of logistic hubs. The resolution calls for countering drug trafficking to become a pillar in the upcoming EU ports strategy and to recognise this crime as a priority area for Customs. It calls to integrate the protection of minors against recruitment into drug policies. The resolution calls on EU and Member States to fully implement the 2024 Directive on asset recovery and confiscation. It stresses the need for a common approach to tackle organised crime and calls to explore EPPO’s role in addressing this crime. The resolution calls for proportionate and adequate resources for law enforcement and judicial authorities, ensuring coordination with Frontex, Europol, Eurojust and European Drugs Agency (EUDA), and calls for strengthened cooperation with customs and administrative authorities. It also highlights the importance of cooperation frameworks with third countries. It however expresses concerns on the envisaged funding for 2028-2034 stressing the crucial role of cohesion and development funds in this field. It welcomes the EU agenda for cities but calls for public investment in social development and cohesion for communities to strengthen security and social justice. Finally, it calls on recognising the role of civil society as well as of victims and their relatives, demanding that institutions protect their safety, integration (employment, housing) and freedom of expression.

A. whereas Mehdi Kessaci was murdered in a mafia-style killing intended to intimidate his brother Amine and his family, who are involved in the fight against the scourge of drug trafficking, particularly in Marseille;

Response to the requests in the resolution and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:

B. whereas this murder is part of the overall context of daily violence linked to drug trafficking, which is blighting entire neighbourhoods in our cities, and more recently rural areas;

The Commission adopted in December 2025 a comprehensive EU Drugs Strategy (the Strategy) to protect citizens well-being and public health, strengthen security responses to drug trafficking and to step up EU international cooperation and partnerships. This Strategy also aims to strengthen Europe’s preparedness against drug-related threats to health and security. With this Strategy, the Commission shows its commitment to a multidisciplinary and balanced approach to drug policy integrating security, health and social measures with a person’s centred approach and strengthening sectoral and partner cooperation and actively engaging civil society in implementation.

C. whereas there are countless victims of this lucrative trade; whereas these are both direct victims of the internal violence inherent in drug trafficking networks and indirect victims, who are collateral victims of drug-related score-settling, such as Socayna, a 24-year-old woman who died on 13 September 2023 after being hit by a stray bullet while in her bedroom in Marseille, and Fayed, aged 10, fatally shot in the head on 21 August 2023 while in his uncle’s car in Nîmes;

The Strategy aims to protect individuals and communities against social harm related to drugs, including drug-related violence, and calls for a reinforced community and regional approach to risk and harm reduction interventions. It therefore encourages Member States to step up support for recovery, housing, mental health assistance, and job opportunities for individuals affected by drug use and trafficking.

D. whereas, given the level and scale of this violence, it is necessary to address narco-terrorism and to adapt political will and resources to this scale;

Prevention is notably a key pillar of the drugs Strategy and Action Plan. Evidence-based measures will be taken to address drug related violence and prevent the recruitment of minors into drug trafficking recognizing the role of the digital dimension.

E. whereas the rapid adaptation of drug trafficking requires flexible and operational responses on the ground;

Complementing the Strategy, the EU action plan against drug trafficking focuses on concrete areas for urgent action to disrupt organised criminal networks behind drug trafficking, targeting their routes and criminal methods. Its nineteen operational measures aim to support Member States to strengthen information-sharing, joint analyses, coordination and joint operations and investigations against illicit drug trafficking, reinforce detection of drugs and chemical precursors and to counter criminal methods. It seeks to improve the situational picture authorities have, effective multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation at all levels and foster relevant innovations and new technologies. This includes in particular the involvement of customs, law enforcement and judicial authorities, the military, penitentiary institutions, the private sector, third countries and international bodies, using where possible already existing operational, legal and financial instruments and taking into account new (legislative) developments such as the EU customs reform This will be supported at EU level by the EU Drugs Agency, and Europol, Frontex and CEPOL.

F. whereas this situation is the result of too long a period of political and societal complacency, and even benevolence, towards drug addiction;

Later this year, the Commission intends to propose new rules on the fight against organised crime with the aim of strengthening the ability of authorities to fight criminal organisations more effectively. In this context, the Commission also examines how the current definition of organised crime and related offences could be updated to close legal gaps and to better reflect current challenges, including the recruitment of minors.

G. whereas the fight against this scourge cannot, as a matter of principle, be based on removing responsibility from consumers;

Tackling criminal finances is essential in the fight against organised crime. Therefore, the European Commission attaches importance to the timely and effective transposition of the new Asset Recovery and Confiscation Directive and will continue to support Member States in this process. In this context, the European Commission also highlights the reuse of confiscated property for public or social purposes as a best practice that Member States are encouraged to adopt, as it sends a strong signal that justice prevails and strengthens community resilience against organised crime infiltration. As announced in ProtectEU – the European Internal Security Strategy, efforts are being undertaken to further strengthen maritime security to effectively address emerging threats, secure ports, and enhance EU supply chain security. To this end, the Commission will ensure its robust implementation and support the strengthening of national practices and authorities such as customs whose efforts prioritize the fight against illicit drug trafficking. For that purpose, the EU Ports Alliance focuses amongst other things on improving operational cooperation and information exchange, fighting corruption and criminal infiltration, and enhancing port security measures. Moreover, the EU customs reform aims at strengthening information sharing, analyses, and risk assessments supported by the EU Customs Authority. In the coming months, those efforts will be further elaborated within a dedicated EU Ports Strategy.

H. whereas the EU has developed, within the framework of its justice and home affairs policies, legal, operational and technical tools enabling Member States to cooperate with each other, with the support of specialised agencies, both within the European area of freedom, security and justice and at its external borders;

The Commission is also committed to ensuring the protection of victims and recalls that the EU Victims’ Rights Directive provides for a set of rights that are applicable to all victims of all crimes, including to victims of organised crime. In December 2025, the EU co-legislators have provisionally agreed to revise the Victims’ Rights Directive and thus further strengthen victims’ rights. According to the new rules, victims will have improved right to individual assessment of their needs for support and protection, and more focus will be on victims’ physical protection. Such strengthened standards on victims’ rights may prove particularly useful to victims of organised crime, who often need specialised support and protection. Under the new rules, victims will also benefit from improved coordination and cooperation among the organisations and bodies encountering victims. Furthermore, the Commission may also promote good practices for victims of organised crime via the upcoming EU Strategy on Victims’ Rights (2026-2030) to be adopted by the end of 2026.

I. whereas these tools can be used to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking at EU level and at international level alongside non-EU countries;

The European Affordable Housing Plan, adopted in December 2025, aims to support Member States in increasing the supply of affordable and social housing, especially for those who are most affected by the housing crisis. It is up to Member States to define the specific target groups of their housing policy, possibly including families affected by drug trafficking. High housing costs are a barrier to relocation, therefore working on housing affordability contributes to helping families to relocate if they wish or need to do so. Member States as well as cities and regions can also work with social economy organisations that foster social inclusion and work integration, including for people affected by drug trafficking and drug use.

J. whereas this fight must also involve the countries of origin of drugs, which cannot be regarded as reliable partners of the EU unless they cooperate genuinely and effectively in this area;

The Commission recognises the links between homelessness and situations of vulnerability, including among people who use drugs or are affected by drug use, as well as other groups facing multiple and complex needs. In this context, the activities of the European Platform on Combating Homelessness provides a framework for knowledge-building, cooperation and mutual learning among Member States, EU institutions and stakeholders on issues related to homelessness. Through this work, the Commission actively promotes integrated and person-centred approaches which address the needs of people in vulnerable situations experiencing or at risk of homelessness. As already announced in the European Affordable Housing Plan, the Commission will propose a Council Recommendation on fighting housing exclusion, in the context of the forthcoming Anti-Poverty Strategy, with the aim to support vulnerable persons, in precarious housing situations.

1. Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the cowardly murder of Mehdi Kessaci and offers its full support to his family in this ordeal and, more broadly, in their heroic struggle;

The Commission takes note of the concerns of the European Parliament that programme planning, negotiation and responsibility should remain at the regional level. The proposed new long-term budget aims to bring together EU Funds implemented by Member States and regions under one coherent strategy in National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), with economic, social and territorial cohesion, agricultural and fisheries policies and security at its core. The Commission is of the view that the modernised cohesion policy will continue to follow a place-based and multilevel governance approach, building on shared management and the partnership principle, in full respect of the subsidiarity principle.

General framework for combating drug trafficking

The proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans would give Member States the flexibility to better tailor the budget to regional and local needs for more impactful actions, while strengthening synergies between policies. Regions would continue to be closely involved in the design and implementation of the policy and will be able to liaise directly with the Commission. Each Member State would be able to design its Plan in line with its own administrative and institutional framework. The key principles of cohesion policy – place-based approach, partnership, shared management, and multilevel governance - would be preserved. Regional and local authorities must be part of the partnership and must be involved in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the relevant chapters of the Plans, including through participation in monitoring committees.

2. Considers that we must speak of a real war against drug trafficking and equip ourselves with all the legal, political, financial and material means to wage it;

Member States with transition and more developed regions should continue supporting addressing their specific challenges, also through specific measures focused on urban areas, based on local strategies and in direct involvement of local actors. Focusing on specific needs of urban areas are among the requirement that Member States and regions should address when preparing and implementing their National and Regional Partnership Plans. In particular, in the Commission’s proposal, Member States would be required to allocate resources for integrated sustainable urban development strategies. In addition, urban authorities would be able to benefit from support under the EU Facility to develop innovative projects, strengthen capacities of cities and provide a knowledge environment to share know how on sustainable urban development.

3. Stresses that police forces across all continents have established the link between migrant smuggling and drug trafficking networks, with drug transport logistics also being used to transport illegal immigrants; notes that more than 90 % of migrants entering the EU illegally are believed to use these criminal networks;

4. Recalls that illegal migrants, particularly minors, are an ideal source of ‘labour’ for traffickers, as they are more discreet, mobile, dependent and therefore easier to exploit than others;

5. Considers that the EU should treat identified drug cartels as terrorist organisations, thereby facilitating the intelligence work of the national authorities in relation to them;

Police and judicial measures

6. Calls on the Member States concerned to significantly strengthen, with the support of Frontex where necessary, the human, material and technological resources allocated to external border controls in the fight against trafficking in arms, human beings and drugs, particularly in large ports, some of which have become veritable ‘cocaine hubs’;

7. Calls on Europol, with the assistance of the EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), to strengthen its support for national law enforcement agencies in order to give real priority to the fight against narco-terrorism;

8. Calls on Eurojust to improve its support for joint investigation teams set up by the competent national authorities;

9. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the creation of the new European customs agency does not undermine the current synergies and cooperation between the national customs authorities of the Member States, Europol and Frontex in preventing and combating drug trafficking;

10. Instructs the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority to focus immediately on financial flows linked to drug trafficking;

11. Instructs the Commission to provide the necessary legal and material resources for this fight and for the agencies concerned by reallocating existing budgets;

12. Calls for closer cooperation with Interpol in the fight against trafficking in arms, human beings and drugs; recalls, in this regard, the encouraging example of the arrest in February 2025 of Mohamed Amra, who was the subject of an Interpol red notice;

13. Calls for a proportionate relaxation of data protection rules in the fight against drug trafficking;

External dimension

14. Stresses that an effective fight against this scourge must begin at its source and continue throughout its entire process;

15. Calls for the EU to cooperate with the countries of origin of drugs and to denounce and sanction non-EU countries that refuse to cooperate or that turn a blind eye, in one way or another, to trafficking, the financial flows it generates, or the traffickers themselves;

16. Notes with concern that the overseas territories of Member States have become prime targets for South American cartels, with the French West Indies, for example, becoming a gateway for cocaine to ports such as Le Havre;

17. Calls for the careful consideration of the massive presence of powerful cartels in certain candidate countries and in countries covered by the European neighbourhood policy;

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18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, Frontex, Europol, Eurojust, eu-LISA, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority and Interpol.