Brussels, 03/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 3 June, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Peter Hustinx expressed reservations about the European Commission's proposals, published in March 2013, for the reorganisation of Europol, the European police cooperation agency. The Commission says that, in time, Europol should absorb the CEPOL police college that trains police officers in the European Union.
Hustinx says it is imperative for clear criteria to be laid down for the transfer of information outside the EU and to international bodies now that Europol's work is to become more cross-border in nature. The EDPS fears that the protection of information might be jeopardised under the Commission's plans. Up to now, Europol has had a good data protection system, but it is suggested that information stored in a number of databases be cross-referenced to see whether individuals or groups are suspected of more than one type of crime (drugs and human-trafficking, for example) “could be a cause for concern if data protection safeguards are not put in place”. “The increased flexibility to cross-check information should be balanced, for example, by specifying the purpose and in general by keeping a high level of data protection, at least as high as that which is prescribed in the current data protection legislation”. (LC/transl.fl)