LONDON — Criminal networks are “weaponizing children” to commit torture and murder by recruiting them through multiplayer video games and smartphones — and parents often have no idea what’s happening, the boss of Europe’s law enforcement agency warns.  These groups now pose the greatest single criminal threat to the European Union because they destabilize society by targeting children and destroying families, said Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol.  “The weaponization of children for organized crime groups is what is going on at the moment on European soil,” she said in a joint interview with POLITICO and Welt. “They weaponize the children to torture or to kill. It’s not about petty theft anymore. It’s about big crimes.”  The “worst case” Europol has seen was of a young boy who was ordered “to kill his younger sister, which happened,” she said. “It’s cruel, we have never seen this before.”  She even suggested that children and young people are being used by hostile states and hybrid threat perpetrators as unwitting spies to eavesdrop on government buildings.  The Europol chief is in a unique position to describe the criminal landscape threatening European security, as head of the EU agency responsible for intelligence coordination and supporting national police. In a wide-ranging discussion, De Bolle also cautioned that the growth of artificial intelligence is having a dramatic impact, multiplying online crime, described how drug smugglers are now using submarines to ship cocaine from South America to Europe, and described an increasing threat to European society from Russia’s hybrid war.  De Bolle’s comments come amid an ongoing debate about how to police the internet and social media to prevent young and vulnerable people from coming to harm. The greatest threat facing the EU from organized crime right now comes from groups that have “industrialized” the recruitment of children, she said: “Because [they are] the future of the European Union. If you lose them, you lose everything.” FROM GAMING TO GROOMING Criminals often begin the process of grooming children by joining their multiplayer video games, which have a chat function, and gaining their trust by discussing seemingly harmless topics like pets and family life.  Then, they will switch to a closed chat where they will move on to discussing more sinister matters, and persuade the child to share personal details like their address. At that point, the criminals can bribe or blackmail the child into committing violence, including torture, self-harm, murder and even suicide.  Europol is aware of 105 instances in which minors were involved in violent crimes “performed as a service” — including 10 contract killings. Many attempted murders fail because children are inexperienced, the agency said. “We also have children who do not execute the order and then, for instance, [the criminals] kill the pet of the child, so that the child knows very well, ‘We know where you live, we know who you are, you will obey, and if you don’t, we will go even further to kill your mother or your father,’” De Bolle warned.  Criminals will also offer children money to commit a crime — as much as $20,000 for a killing, sometimes they pay and sometimes they don’t. While these networks often target children who are vulnerable because they have psychological problems or are bullied at school, healthy and happy children are also at risk, De Bolle said. “It’s also about others, youngsters who are not vulnerable but just want new shoes — shoes that are very expensive.”  Sometimes young people are even recruited for hybrid war by state actors, she said. “You also have it with hybrid threat actors that are looking for the crime as a service model — the young perpetrators to listen to the foreign state, to listen to the communication around buildings.” Once police catch a child, the criminals abandon them and move to groom a new child to turn into a remote-operated weapon.  “Parents blame themselves in a lot of cases. They do not understand how it is possible,” she said. “The problem is you don’t have access to everything your child does and you respect also the privacy of your children. But as a parent, you need to talk about the dangers of the internet.” DRUGS AND AI ARE ALSO A PROBLEM Among the new criminal methods crossing Europol’s desks, two stand out: The use of so-called narco-submarines to smuggle drugs like cocaine from South America into the EU and the growth in AI technology fueling an explosion in online fraud that enforcement agencies are virtually powerless to stop.  Instead of shipping cocaine into the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp through containers, criminals have diversified their methods, De Bolle said. One key route is to sail semi-submersible vessels from South America to Europe’s North Atlantic coast, where speedboats meet them and offload the illegal cargo via Portugal, according to Europol’s information.  While Europe now is “overflooded with drugs,” criminal organizations may make more money, more easily through online fraud, she said. “Artificial intelligence is a multiplier for crime,” she said. “Everything is done a thousand times more and faster. The abuse of artificial intelligence lies in phishing emails — you do not recognize it very easily with phishing emails anymore because the language is correct.”  She said “romance fraud” is also “booming,” as “people look for love, also online.” “With deepfakes and with voice automation systems, it’s very difficult for a law enforcement authority to recognise that from a genuine picture. The technology is not there yet to [tell] the difference,” De Bolle added.  De Bolle said Europol needed to be able to access encrypted phone messages with a judge’s authorization to disrupt these criminal networks. “When a judge decides that we need to have access to data, the online providers should be forced to give us access to this encrypted communication,” she said. Otherwise, “we will be blind and then we cannot do our job.”

LONDON — Britain’s top business minister will visit China in September to reopen trade talks with Beijing, multiple figures familiar with the plans have told POLITICO. Jonathan Reynolds is expected to travel to Beijing in the second week of September, heralding the restart of the U.K.-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO). It will be the first meeting of the JETCO since Boris Johnson’s Tory government suspended talks following Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019. The reopening of the dialogue, which focuses on tackling bilateral trade barriers, comes as the U.K. works to reset relations with Beijing. Reynolds told POLITICO last fall that trade is an area “where cooperation is possible with China.” Reynolds’ visit “means JETCO is getting the gravitas it deserves,” said Mark Clayton, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce South China, pointing to Reynolds’ status as a key cabinet decision-maker. “It seems to be forgotten that there’s still a lot of tariffs between China and the U.K.,” Clayton said, noting there are “easy wins that could be had” on both sides from the meeting — including lowering non-tariff barriers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to travel to China early next year after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at November’s G20 leaders summit in South Africa, said two people familiar with the plans. ‘A LOT MORE TO DO ON TRADE’ China reopened pork market access to the U.K. last December following Reynolds’ discussions with Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 trade ministers in Brazil. “There’s still quite a lot more to be done on agriculture,” said one of the people familiar with the planning described above, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “The government is very focused on deliverables and big wins that they can announce with the trip. If something’s relating to tax, or if something’s related to import-export restrictions, it’s probably going to have a little bit more focus.” Reynolds will be speaking with his counterpart from China’s Ministry of Commerce. “The U.K. and China are having a dialogue … which is grown up and not one with threats and muscle and all the sorts of things that you’re seeing from across the Atlantic,” said a second person familiar with the JETCO planning who was also granted anonymity. “We are taking a consistent and strategic approach to our trade relationship with China, engaging in areas of trade that benefit the UK’s national interests,” a U.K. government spokesperson said.  ‘GUEST OF HONOR’ During the Reynolds visit the U.K. will be front and center as the “guest country of honor” at the annual China International Fair for Investment and Trade running from Sept. 8 in Xiamen, a coastal city in China’s southeastern Fujian province. China reopened pork market access to the U.K. last December following Reynolds’ discussions with Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministers’ meeting in Brazil. | Andres Martinez Casares/EPA Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson had been planning to lead a business delegation to CIFIT’s UK Investment Conference 2025, where Chinese firms and investors will learn about projects in both China and Britain. “The embassy are keen to get a high profile minister out and it’s been a nightmare to make it work,” said a third person briefed on the planning, citing scheduling conflicts that mean neither Gustafsson nor Reynolds are likely to attend.  During the Reynolds visit the U.K. and Chinese governments are expected to sign 10 memorandums of understanding, the second person familiar with the planning quoted above said, noting a senior civil servant has “gone out to have a direct conversation to make sure the arrangements are all in place.” MoUs in the works cover areas such as digital trade, trade dispute measures, and multilateral trade. Although non-binding, MoUs have “concrete benefits,” said the British Chamber of Commerce South China’s Clayton. The visit “will go on the front page of the state-owned media,” he said. Chinese firms and local politicians will then “see the U.K. as a friendly country,” Clayton added. STARMER’S TRIP Yet the biggest opportunities will be unlocked when Prime Minister Keir Starmer travels to China early next year.  “The Starmer visit, when it happens, will be very important to galvanize [Chinese investment] activity,” said the second person quoted above, who has spoken directly with Chinese firms interested in doing business in the U.K. “The handshake with Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, or wherever it is, will send the message that the U.K. is a good investment destination,” they said. Chinese firms “want that very clear message coming out,” they added. “So it’s quite an important thing.” No. 10 did not respond to a request for comment.