Brussels, 07/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 5 October the European Commission adopted a draft decision aimed at giving the European Police College a new status.
Under the Commission proposal, the College will be financed from the European Union budget and no longer by contributions from the Member States. One of the benefits will be to strengthen its secretariat, whose staff will then enjoy the same conditions of employment as officials of the European Union institutions. It would no longer be open only to senior police officers but to all personnel from the various enforcement services, including customs. Lastly, the European dimension of the training provided by the College would be enhanced, for instance by the certification of common curricula. This Commission proposal follows on from the July 2004 decision of the EU Council of Ministers to give the European Police College a legal personality and a permanent headquarters in Bramshill, United Kingdom. Set up in 2001, the European Police College brings together the national police training centres of the Member States of the European Union in order to help the different national police forces to gain a better understanding of their respective systems and learn about the tools and mechanisms of European cooperation (such as common investigation techniques), and about EU policies on terrorism, illegal immigration, administration of external borders and trafficking in human beings.