MEPs made their recommendations, on Tuesday 5 July, for the cooperation agreement between the EU and Interpol - the international police cooperation agency - proposed by the Commission in April 2021 and currently under negotiation. This agreement aims, among other things, to modernise a previous cooperation agreement between Europol and Interpol dating from 2001.
The EU Council had authorised these talks with Interpol in July 2021.
Adopting an own-initiative report by 607 votes to 13 with 11 abstentions, the European Parliament, which was only informed about the dossier, insisted on allowing Europol, EPPO, Eurojust or Frontex access to Interpol’s databases, according to a statement.
With regard to the transfer of data between the EU and Interpol, “the new agreement should clearly state the purposes for which data may be transferred and block the retention of data for longer than necessary. It should also ensure that personal data cannot be transferred if they are used in connection with death sentences or inhumane treatment”.
MEPs are also concerned about Interpol red notices (requests to arrest a person in another country) being used for political purposes, especially by authoritarian regimes. The Parliament is also calling for Russia to be excluded from Interpol as it poses a direct threat to international law enforcement cooperation.
Link to the text: https://aeur.eu/f/2hk (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)