Brussels, 11/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - Belgium has submitted to its partners a draft recommendation for the setting up of joint police stations and police and customs co-operation centres. The draft recommendation is on two levels, with the Council being called upon to recommend that Member States encourage the setting up of such centres, but supplemented by an annex proposing a number of directives for the launch and running of such centres. Based on the Convention applying the Schengen Agreement, and a questionnaire sent to six countries that already have joint police or police and customs co-operation centres (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal), Belgium says such centres should operate as an information exchange and co-ordination service between the competent authorities in border areas in terms of police and customs co-operation. They could collect, analyse and exchange information on the combating cross border criminal phenomena (smuggling and illegal immigration) and preventing crimes and threats to public order, submitting requests to identify number plates as part of police enquiries, common surveillance measures and the strategic analysis of cross-border phenomena. According to the Belgian proposal, agents would report to their own country and its hierarchy, but would have the save level of protection in the country in which they are cooperating as local agents and could go there wearing their national uniform.