Brussels, 04/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is proposing a better organisation of the control of Europol, but limits this to Europol's current powers, simply evoking the European police Office's future powers of investigation. In a communication adopted last week (see EUROPE of 2 March, p. 13), the Commission sets out from the observation that "the current system cannot be regarded as legally inadequate", given Europol's limited powers (information exchange), but that "the problem resides in the fact that the exercise of these controls (by national parliaments, by the joint control authority and by the board of administration) is indirect, divided and not very explicit, which gives rise to a general feeling (…) that controls should be clearer and more transparent".
The Commission proposes two measures to hedge against this "divided" and "indirect" control. On the one hand, better information for the European Parliament, to which the Commission would like the European police Office to henceforth address the same annual activities report as to the Council (instead of a "very slightly altered version" that MEPs now receive). The communication also suggests conferring on the European Parliament the formal right of convening the director of Europol before the relevant Committee. Europol's control authority should, according to the Commission, be obliged to draw up an annual report and hand it to the EP, whereas now it is free to decide whether or not to make a report and render it public. On the other hand, the Commission proposes setting up a formal mechanism for information exchange between the control bodies of national parliaments and the European Parliament. A Joint Committee could be created and meet twice a year to exchange information and discuss Europol, on the model of Cosac (Conference of bodies of national parliaments specialised in Community affairs, that meets twice a year). This Committee "would have close contacts with Europol" through a delegation of five members appointed by the joint committee. Should Europol receive powers of investigation, "it would become necessary to take further measures", the Commission notes in its communication but without going into further detail, whereas the Council reached a political agreement last week on Europol's participation in joint investigating teams and on providing it with the right to ask a Member State to initiate an investigation.
In its communication, the Commission describes the current control of Europol activities. For data protection, controls exercised are "if not more extensive, at least comparable to controls to which national police services are subject to in Member states, even though powers of the latter are much greater". Each Member state designates a national authority responsible for controlling the management by Europol of personal data handed to it, and a joint control authority regroups these national authorities. Europol's board of administration, made up of one representative per State, draws up an annual report on the Office. Parliamentary control, "more or less indirect", is neither more nor less than is the case for national police forces, the Commission notes. Each minister competent is responsible to his or her parliament for the activities of Europol, whereas the EP receives an annual report, as we mentioned "very slightly altered"..
Created by the Maastricht Treaty, the European Police Office, Europol only really began its activities in 1993 (meanwhile, only a drugs unit was in place). It has as task to collect, analyse and exchange information. Since 1 January of this year, its field of powers has considerably grown, moving from eight fields (trafficking, in drugs, nuclear and radioactive matter, trafficking in human beings, illegal immigration, trafficking in stolen vehicles, terrorism, laundering) to a much more complete list (EUROPE of 29 September and 8 December 20001). Whereas Member states are preparing Europol's access to initial powers of investigation, they have begun a vast modification of the Intergovernmental Convention that defines Europol's operations. They have, notably, to decide how to operate these modifications (EUROPE of 2 March, p.13). Europol is often criticised for its lack of effectiveness by Member states, which, however, shy from playing the game, being very reluctant to share information with the Office (EUROPE of 16 February, p.7 and 29 September). The European Parliament and several countries, including Sweden, place special emphasis on the question of Europol's parliamentary control.