On Tuesday 11 April, the members of the committees on civil liberties of the European Parliament approved the cooperation agreement between the EU and Denmark to allow the country to continue to participate in the European police cooperation agency, Europol.
On 14 February, Parliament's plenary session authorised Denmark to be included on its list of countries eligible to conclude operational agreements with the European police agency (see EUROPE 11725). This time, by adopting the report by Agustin Diaz de Mera (EPP, Spain), they approved the specific cooperation agreement by 51 votes to 1.
On 3 December 2015, Denmark held a referendum on converting its non-flexible derogation in justice and home affairs matters into a more flexible accession, but the idea was rejected. Currently, Denmark is a full member of Europol, but under Protocol 22 of the Treaty, it was excluded from involvement in the adoption of the new Europol regulation and is not covered by its application. The new regulation will apply from 1 May 2017, when the Council's decision on Europol will be automatically rescinded.
To prevent Denmark from being locked out of Europol on 1 May, it, the Commission and the Council issued a joint statement in late 2016 proposing Danish involvement in Europol under an operational cooperation agreement. The legal path to such an association comprises two consecutive legislative procedures, Parliament explains: firstly, Denmark's inclusion on the list of third countries with which Europol concludes international cooperation agreements; secondly, an operational cooperation agreement between Europol and Denmark. Parliament must be consulted on both proposals.
However, the rapporteur took pains to stress that a cooperation agreement with Denmark is an exception and must under no circumstances be considered full participation in Europol. This was also a requirement voiced by the European institutions in their statement of 15 December (see EUROPE 11690). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)