Preface

Law enforcement across the European Union is functioning in a rapidly changing environment. Driven by technological advancements, criminal activity is progressively destabilising, increasingly nurtured online, and strongly accelerated by new technologies, making it more digital, cross-border and interconnected than ever before. Serious and organised crime no longer threatens only public safety; it impacts the very foundations of our institutions and society, with criminal networks increasingly operating as proxies for hybrid threat actors. This evolving landscape requires constant adaptation, enhanced cooperation, and an intelligence-led capacity to anticipate and respond effectively to emerging threats.

In this context, CEPOL’s EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) 2026–2029 provides a comprehensive, evidence-based overview of current and future training requirements.

The findings of this report show that training needs is rarely limited to specific crime or operational domains. Instead, it is characterised by overlapping and interconnected phenomena, in which transversal skills and core capability gaps, for instance about intelligence-led policing or information exchange, are prevalent. The evolving nature of crime is increasingly shaped by developments in the online field. Digital infrastructures are not only enablers, but also part of the environment in which offenders operate. Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are further increasing the complexity and scale of criminal activities, which reinforces the need for specialised skills and continuous upskilling.

These developments are reflected in the training priorities identified by Member States, with strong demand in areas such as drug trafficking, cyber-attacks and counter-terrorism. At the same time, emerging fields such as environmental crime and hybrid threats point to an increasing transnational dimension of crime. This requires cross-sectoral knowledge and cross-border coordination between teams. This new landscape highlights the need for EU-level training to equip law enforcement with both specialised expertise and horizontal competencies to ensure that capabilities are aligned with operational realities and future demands. Building on the experience of its two previous cycles, CEPOL’s EU-STNA 2026–2029 reflects a mature, collective and intelligence-led process. It is based on extensive consultations with Member States, EU institutions, agencies, training providers and expert networks, ensuring that its findings are grounded in operational realities. The assessment identifies nine horizontal capability gaps and a comprehensive set of thematic training needs, while also highlighting a significant increase in demand for EU-level training. Member States report that more than 170,000 law enforcement officials will require training in priority areas during the next cycle, underlining the urgent need to scale up and coordinate training provision at European level.

Addressing these challenges requires a shift in our approach to training. Training can no longer be seen as a series of isolated interventions designed to tackle individual threats. Instead, it must be seen as a strategic investment in preparedness, resilience and joint operational capacity. This entails enhancing cross-border collaboration, promoting multidisciplinary and experiential learning formats, incorporating digital and data-driven approaches and ensuring that training stays relevant to the current realities of law enforcement.

CEPOL plays a central role in supporting this transformation. As the EU hub for law enforcement training, it contributes to strengthening cooperation, promoting common standards and facilitating knowledge exchange across Member States. CEPOL’s EU-STNA directly informs its multiannual learning programming and supports the implementation of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), ensuring coherence between training provision and EU internal security priorities. It also contributes to the objectives of the ProtectEU strategy and the broader European preparedness agenda, reinforcing the Union’s capacity to respond to complex and evolving threats.

In this context, continued investment in training is essential. The demand for training at the EU-level exceeds the existing offer, and there are significant disparities in capacity and expertise among Member States. To tackle these challenges, we need to improve coordination among training providers, develop scalable learning solutions and gradually establish minimum common standards and sectoral qualification frameworks. Strengthening cooperation with academia, the private sector and international partners will also be critical to ensuring that training remains both innovative and closely aligned with operational needs.

This report is delivered at a moment of transition for CEPOL. It builds on the strong foundations laid under the leadership of the former Executive Director, Montserrat Marín López, whose tenure has been instrumental in consolidating CEPOL’s role as a key actor in EU law enforcement training and in strengthening its strategic contribution to the Union’s internal security architecture. At the same time, it provides a forward-looking basis for the incoming Executive Director, Jan Pecháček, to further advance the Agency’s mission, ensuring continuity while supporting the next phase of CEPOL’s development in an increasingly complex security environment.

CEPOL’s EU-STNA 2026–2029 provides a forward-looking framework to guide EU-level training efforts. By translating identified capability gaps into concrete priorities, the Agency supports a more coherent and effective approach to law enforcement capacity building across the Union. Strengthening skills, cooperation and a common law enforcement culture remain essential to ensuring preparedness for emerging challenges.

This report supports those objectives as a practical tool for decision-making and the implementation of training priorities across the European law enforcement community. Heads, directors and policy advisors of law enforcement training institutions are encouraged to use its findings to inform curricula development, strategic planning and resource allocation; trainers, experts and practitioners may draw on the assessment to design and deliver relevant, high-impact training activities that reflect evolving crime trends and technological advancements; EU decision-makers can rely on this report to guide policy development, prioritisation and alignment with the Union’s internal security frameworks; and EU Justice and Home Affairs agencies and partners may align their portfolios and joint initiatives with its findings to maximise coherence, reach and operational effectiveness. Through its broad uptake and application, CEPOL’s EU-STNA 2026–2029 can serve as a shared reference point, strengthening collective capacity and reinforcing a coordinated European response to the current security challenges.