The agreement reached during inter-institutional negotiations on 1 February on the new mandate for the Europol agency was met with mixed reactions in the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12881/5), with some groups welcoming it as a step forward for the security of Europeans and others saying that it contained worrying elements.
The agreement strengthens Europol’s ‘Research and Innovation’ component, which is responsible for helping Member States to use emerging technologies and develop common technological solutions based on artificial intelligence, among other things, according to the EU Council.
The agency will also be authorised to process large volumes of data and, for data currently in Europol’s possession whose status has been questioned by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), a transitional measure will allow Member States, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Eurojust to inform Europol that they wish to apply Europol’s new mandate to this data.
Europol will still be able to receive data directly from private actors, “thus providing a contact point at EU level to legally share data sets from several authorities”. It will be able to analyse them and forward the information to the national authorities.
Europol will also have the possibility to exchange data with third countries where appropriate safeguards are provided for in a legally binding instrument “or exist according to the self-assessment carried out within Europol”.
Finally, the agency will have the right to propose the inclusion of alerts relating to information from third countries in the Schengen Information System, and the Executive Director of Europol will also be able to propose the opening of a national investigation into crimes that are not cross-border, but are covered by EU policy.
Europol will also, in principle, be able to assess Interpol red alerts.
The agreement “signifies a substantial political impetus for the European Security Union and responds effectively to the new requirements of the fight against serious and organised crime and terrorism”, EPP rapporteur Javier Zarzalejos welcomed in a statement, also welcoming a new oversight for Parliament with a strengthened role for the Joint Parliamentary Monitoring Group.
The Renew Europe Group, through French MEP Fabienne Keller, welcomed a first step towards a ‘European FBI’.
However, there are a number of elements that are of concern to the Greens/EFA, including the new Article legalising the retention of data without a separate category. “The final text remains worrying”, said Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont, responsible for the dossier for her group.
“It is interesting that it is the discovery of illegal practices that leads to new legislation that will legalise these practices after the fact”, she said. “The agency, thanks to its new mandate, will be able to override the injunction of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). This undermines the authority of the supervisory body”.
“The improvements achieved with the Greens/EFA Group, such as the establishment of a Fundamental Rights Officer and a Consultative Forum, are important”, she added, but “do not offer sufficient democratic guarantees and checks and balances”. The agreement will have to be formally approved by Parliament and the Council of the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)