At the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Thursday 5 March, European ministers discussed how to strengthen the powers of the Europol agency, which is due to take up its next mandate in June.
Faced with the changing modus operandi of criminal networks, which are migrating en masse to encrypted applications such as WhatsApp, the European Commission and the management board of the agency want to be able to bypass operational limits since they are currently paralysing 30% of investigations (see EUROPE 13815/20). The aim is to consolidate Europol’s processing capacities and interoperability between national and European databases.
While France, through Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Minister Delegate to the Minister for the Interior, refuses to formally extend the mandate, it does want to “strengthen the parts that are already working”. In contrast, her Luxembourg counterpart, Léon Gloden, defended a “data-driven” agency, explaining that “organised crime is a common problem” that requires a “joint response”.
This debate is particularly relevant in the light of escalating tensions in the Middle East (see EUROPE 13822/2). Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, said he feared an “increased risk of attacks”, which would require increased vigilance at Jewish and American facilities. In this context, the exchange of information between intelligence services via Europol is becoming “particularly crucial”.
Mr Gloden also stressed the importance of this cooperation in identifying any Iranian criminals who might take advantage of the current unstable situation to enter European territory. Their Spanish colleague, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez, added that Europol must acquire “more operational capabilities” to guarantee a safer Europe. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)