Third Report of Session 2013-14 - European Scrutiny Committee Contents


14   European law enforcement training

(34842)

8230/13

COM(13) 172

Commission Communication: Establishing a European Law Enforcement Training Scheme

Legal base
Document originated 27 March 2013
Deposited in Parliament 18 April 2013
DepartmentHome Office
Basis of considerationEM of 3 May 2013
Previous Committee ReportNone
Discussion in CouncilNo date set
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionNot cleared; further information requested; relevant to the debate on the opt-in decision on the draft Regulation on the European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training (8229/13)

Background

14.1  A number of EU Agencies are already involved in training law enforcement officials. The European Police College (CEPOL) works closely with national training academies to develop training materials and organise courses and exchange programmes for senior police officers on the European dimension of policing with a view to strengthening cross-border police cooperation. The EU's Border Agency (Frontex) and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) provide training for border guards and immigration officials and the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has developed training tools on the human rights dimension of law enforcement. However, the Commission considers that more needs to be done to raise awareness of EU police cooperation instruments and the role of EU Agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust, in supporting the efforts of national law enforcement authorities in preventing and combating cross-border crime. Whilst recognising Member States' primary responsibility for law enforcement training, one of the objectives included in the Stockholm Programme (which establishes the EU's justice and home affairs priorities for the period 2010-14) is to ensure more systematic access to European Training Schemes and exchange programmes for law enforcement professionals at all levels. As well as lending support and financial backing, the Stockholm Programme envisages that the EU should also be able to establish its own mechanisms to supplement national efforts and calls for the EU and international dimension of law enforcement to be included in Member States' national training curricula.[58]

The Communication

14.2  The purpose of the Communication is to propose a new framework — a European Law Enforcement Training Scheme ("the Training Scheme") — to strengthen cross-border law enforcement cooperation and broaden access to all officials with responsibility for law enforcement, regardless of their rank. It draws on the outcome of a mapping exercise carried out by CEPOL on law enforcement training across the EU which identified "significant gaps between training needs and training currently available in the EU."[59] The Commission describes the aims of the Training Scheme as,

"to make the EU's response to common security challenges more effective, to raise the standard of policing across the EU and to stimulate the development of a common law enforcement culture as a means of enhancing mutual trust and cooperation."[60]

14.3  The Commission anticipates that CEPOL would initially be responsible for implementing the Training Scheme, pending the conclusion of negotiations on a draft Regulation proposing to merge CEPOL and Europol and to create a new training directorate within Europol — the Europol Academy — with a broader training mandate and dedicated resources (details of the proposed merger are set out in the preceding chapter).

14.4  The Training Scheme would seek to develop knowledge, skills and competence within four areas or "strands." The first area — Strand 1 — would focus on cross-border aspects of policing. The Communication tasks CEPOL (in cooperation with Member States and Frontex) with developing, as a core competence for all law enforcement officials, a standard minimum level of knowledge and skills on the EU dimension of law enforcement covering such matters as the role of Europol, Eurojust and Frontex and mechanisms for exchanging information.

14.5  Strand 2 would seek to strengthen cross-border police cooperation by raising awareness of EU and other international tools and instruments available to tackle cross-border crime (such as the European Arrest Warrant or the use of rogatory letters to request mutual legal assistance), developing bilateral or regional training projects, and enhancing the linguistic skills of law enforcement officials. Member States would be responsible for implementing Strands 1 and 2 by ensuring that the European dimension of policing forms an integral part of basic training programmes for law enforcement officials. However, CEPOL and (once established) the Europol Academy, would develop learning tools and disseminate best practice, and would take the lead in implementing Strands 3 and 4.

14.6  Strand 3 would provide more in-depth specialised training on specific themes identified in the EU's policy cycle on serious and organised crime for 2013-17, such as trafficking in human beings, cybercrime, financial investigations and the confiscation of criminal assets. Training needs would be based on a gap analysis undertaken by CEPOL during 2013 and included in training programmes developed and implemented by national police training academies or the Europol Academy.

14.7  Strand 4 would target law enforcement officials participating in EU civilian missions in third countries. The Europol Academy, working closely with the European External Action Service and Frontex, would develop a common curriculum for pre-deployment training to be implemented by specialist training institutes for crisis management in Member States from 2015 onwards. The Europol Academy would coordinate the provision of training and provide guidance and expert advice to EU-funded civilian missions on law enforcement matters.

14.8  To ensure that law enforcement training keeps pace with changing needs, the Communication envisages that the Europol Academy would carry out a strategic EU law enforcement training needs analysis every four years, including input from Member States, Frontex, Eurojust, the European Asylum Support Office, the Fundamental Rights Agency and the European External Action Service. The first strategic analysis would be prepared in 2014 and presented to the Council for approval. It would be supplemented by an annual training needs analysis determining the specific training to be offered by the Europol Academy and Frontex.

14.9  The Commission intends the Europol Academy to become a "centre of excellence for law enforcement (cross-border) learning", responsible for overall coordination of the Training Scheme and acting in close cooperation with other EU justice and home affairs Agencies and national training academies. It would have an important role to play in developing learning tools, disseminating best practice and supporting trainers. In some areas, the Europol Academy would have direct responsibility for the provision of training but national training academies could also be recognised as centres of excellence where they have a recognised specialism or expertise.

14.10  The Commission underlines the need for a system of mutual recognition of knowledge and skills acquired within the Training Scheme. It invites CEPOL to present an action plan on the establishment of a common quality framework for law enforcement learning in 2014 with a view to implementing it by 2020, and says that Member States should recognise skills, knowledge and competences acquired under the Training Scheme as "a natural component of a law enforcement official's training portfolio."[61]

14.11  The Commission estimates the direct costs of implementing and administering the Training Scheme as €3.4 million for the period 2013-20 but suggests it could generate annual efficiency savings of around €23 million across the EU by means of "greater specialisation, more effective coordination, exploiting synergies and eliminating duplication, and by aligning training needs more closely with delivery"[62] and notes that EU funding to support training during the period 2014-20 may be available from the Internal Security Fund or the European Social Fund.[63]

The Government's view

14.12  The Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice (Damian Green) says that the Communication proposes,

"a more task orientated programme for law enforcement training, setting out specific undertakings for Member States, which goes further than the role that the EU has previously played in supporting police training activities."[64]

14.13  He highlights the role of the newly-established College of Policing in setting operational and training standards, developing the evidence base to inform policing methods, and supporting the professional development of police officers and staff, including through closer collaboration with other law enforcement agencies. He continues:

"While it is useful to facilitate best practice in policing and to support practical collaboration on issues that have an impact across the EU such as trafficking and policing sporting events, I am concerned that the proposals laid out by the Commission in this Communication limit the flexibility for Member States to decide how police training should be delivered. Our strong view is that police training should be led by the police themselves and we will resist an increased role for the EU in this area. In my view the provisions within the existing CEPOL decision are more than adequate to encourage Member States to collaborate on matters that are mutually beneficial. The Government is therefore not at present convinced of the need for the LETS and we intend to oppose its introduction."[65]

14.14  The Minister suggests that the Commission's estimate of the annual efficiency savings that the new Training Scheme may generate are "speculative."

Conclusion

14.15  The Communication is intended to complement the Commission's proposal for a draft Regulation (described in Chapter 1 of this Report) which would establish a single EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training combining the analytical and operational expertise of Europol with the training functions currently performed by the European Police College (CEPOL). As the purpose of the Communication is to describe the tasks which the new training body — the Europol Academy — would undertake, we think that this Report chapter should be included in the document pack made available to Members for the opt-in debate on the draft Europol Regulation.

14.16  Whilst the Commission anticipates that the Europol Academy would eventually assume responsibility for overall coordination of the European Law Enforcement Training Scheme, it tasks CEPOL with carrying out some preliminary work. This includes developing a minimum standard of knowledge and skills on the EU dimension of law enforcement to be included in national training programmes, carrying out a gap analysis in 2013 to establish training needs, and producing an action plan on a common quality framework for law enforcement learning in 2014. We ask the Minister whether he considers that these tasks would be consistent with CEPOL's current mandate. We also ask the Minister to explain how the Commission intends to take forward the ideas set out in its Communication and whether he expects the Commission to seek Council approval, possibly in the form of an agreed set of Conclusions. Meanwhile, the Communication remains under scrutiny.


58   See para 1.2.6 of the Stockholm Programme at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2010:115:0001:0038:EN:PDF. Back

59   See p.6 of the Communication. Back

60   See p.2 of the Communication. Back

61   See p.11 of the Communication. Back

62   See p.11 of the Communication. Back

63   The UK has not opted into the draft Regulation establishing the Internal Security Fund but may consider opting in after its adoption. See (33395) 17287/11; HC 86-ii (2012-13), chapter 4 (16 May 2012). Back

64   See para 18 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back

65   See para 23 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back


 
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