14 European law enforcement training
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8230/13
COM(13) 172
| Commission Communication: Establishing a European Law Enforcement Training Scheme
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 27 March 2013
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| Deposited in Parliament | 18 April 2013
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| Department | Home Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 3 May 2013
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| Discussion in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not 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)
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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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