Financially Resilient Europe Programme

This programme develops research and activities that centre around the intersection of illicit finance and security, with a focus on the EU and its neighbourhood.

The research and community-building initiatives developed as part of this programme aim to foster a more financially resilient Europe. By leveraging CFCS’s global expertise, the team based in Brussels spotlights financial crime challenges specific to the European context and provides recommendations and expertise to EU stakeholders, national policymakers, and EU partners. We spur improvements by working with a vast and vibrant network of private and public partners and civil society across Europe.

Key focus areas:

Illicit Finance & Democracy

The weaponisation of finance enables a range of overt, covert and hybrid threats to EU democracy and security. It weakens political institutions, corrupts decision-makers and erodes civil society by financing disinformation, buying influence and fuelling divisive issues. It also impedes the development of EU neighbours.

Our research seeks to raise awareness and provide practical solutions to policymakers on how to strengthen EU systems and responses. We also engage with civil society activists and investigative journalists to strengthen the second line of defence against active financial measures applied by malign actors.

EU Sanctions

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has been a shock to European stability. The CFCS team in Brussels promotes the effective implementation of EU sanctions on Russia to bolster the under-resourced and over-stretched capacity of member states.

We are leading a network of EU academic and research institutions working together to ensure that active implementation of sanctions remains central to the EU security and policy agenda as part of the wider EU focus on defending democracy.

Counterterrorist Financing

The CTF landscape in Europe has changed drastically throughout the past two decades, with new challenges on the horizon for EU security and the integrity of the global financial system. At the same time, a digital financial revolution led by the private sector is forcing us to reassess the EU’s existing toolkit for tackling terrorism financing.

Our research brings together leading voices in tech, finance and security, alongside high-profile representatives of the European counterterrorism effort, to discuss the future of counterterrorist financing in Europe.