05/11/25 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 5 November, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties approved the political agreement reached at the end of September with the Council of the EU on Europol’s new duties in the fight against smuggling networks, by 59 votes to 10 with 4 abstentions (see EUROPE 13718/3). The plenary vote is scheduled for the end of November. The new rules, which amend the agency’s current mandate, not only increase the budget and human resources of the law enforcement agency, but also strengthen the obligations regarding information sharing (on migrant smuggling and human trafficking) between national authorities and Europol. Relevant information on migrant smuggling and human trafficking from immigration liaison officers deployed by Member States in third countries should also be shared with Europol. A permanent European Migrant Smuggling Centre within Europol has also been created. More information: https://aeur.eu/f/jau (SP)