Brussels, 27/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a press release on Wednesday, the European Commission announced that it wanted to make the EU law enforcement Agency (Europol) more effective at collecting information and analysing it, so that Europol could, “provide more concrete and targeted support to the national law enforcement authorities”. The press release also says that the new proposal “increases Europol's accountability to the European Parliament and the national Parliaments and strengthens the protection of personal data”.
One innovative development in the proposal is the merger of Europol with the European Police College (Cepol). This has created controversy at the EP, where MEPs are divided on the issue but it is expected to improve “the link between training and support to operational cooperation” by making Europol responsible for joint training and exchange programmes for police and other law enforcement personnel. This operation is expected to make savings worth €17 million for the 2015-2020 period. (CEPOL currently has an annual budget worth €8 million - 2011 figures).
Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Home Affairs said: “The EU needs an effective and cost-efficient agency to help member states fight serious cross-border crime and terrorism, ensuring the safety and security of citizens and protecting the licit economy”.
In addition to this draft regulation, the Commission also published a communication on setting up the European Law Enforcement Training Scheme (LETS). This seeks to increase the efficiency of the response provided by the EU to common security problems and to raise standards in police forces throughout the EU, as well as help to promote the emergence of a common culture in all enforcement services. This training will aim to focus the attention of national enforcement services on common challenges, such as people trafficking, drug trafficking, bankcard fraud, arms trafficking and corruption.
By merging Cepol and Europol, the proposal is in keeping with the current context of budgetary austerity. In the press release, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic explained: “During difficult economic and budgetary times, all EU institutions and agencies have to make efforts to streamline their operations. This reform of Europol shows that it is possible to be cost-efficient while increasing effectiveness at the same time. It is a strong start for the EU's plans to improve the functioning of its decentralised agencies”. (SP/transl.fl)