APPENDIX 2: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
Sub-Committee F (Home Affairs) of the House of Lords
Select Committee on the European Union is conducting an inquiry
into Europol, the European Police Office. Europol was established
by an international Convention signed in 1995 and has been operational
since 1 July 1999. Its task is to facilitate the exchange of information
between Member States' law enforcement authorities and to support
Member States' investigations by providing high quality analysis
of criminal intelligence.
At present, Europol is governed by the 1995 Convention,
and by three Protocols which entered into force in the spring
of 2007. In December 2006 the Commission published a proposal
to replace the Europol Convention and its Protocols by a Council
Decision establishing Europol as an Agency under the EU Treaty.
While changing Europol's legal framework, the Council Decision
is also designed to strengthen Europol and the operational support
it provides to national police authorities. The negotiations on
the Council Decision establishing the European Police Office have
been completed and the proposal is likely to be agreed at the
Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 17/18 April 2008.
This inquiry will examine Europol's current role
and operating environment and how these will change under the
new legal framework and the under the wider process designed to
modernise Europol's structures and improve its functioning and
effectiveness.
The Sub-Committee would welcome evidence on any aspects
of Europol's current role and its future development. We would
particularly welcome comments on:
the development of an EU Architecture of Internal
Security,[94]
intelligence led policing and the European Criminal Intelligence
Model
Europol's relationship with other EU/EC Agencies
such as Eurojust and Frontex, and the extent to which there is
cooperation between these Agencies, especially in the preparation
of the Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA), the Terrorism
Situation Report (TSR), and Analysis Work Files (AWF);
the distribution of tasks between Europol and the
Police Chiefs' Task Force (PCTF) and other EU level institutions;
- Bilateral information exchange
the extent to which Europol Liaison Officers
(ELOs) make use of Europol's information exchange network rather
than operating bilaterally;
- Combating Organised Crime
the extent to which Member States' law enforcement
agencies are involved in Europol's counter-terrorism tasks, including
the Europol National Unit (ENU);
- Europol's Information Exchange Network
the use that is being made by Member States'
law enforcement authorities of the Europol Information System;
- Europol's Information Exchange with Third Parties
the extent to which information is exchanged
by Europol with third countries with which it has cooperation
agreements;
- Governance and Methodologies
the extent to which Europol's objectives and
governance structure are open to wide interpretation;
the value attributed by Member States and other customers
to the OCTA, TSR, AWF and other products and services offered
by Europol;
the inspection mechanisms used by the Joint Supervisory
Body on data protection for ensuring quality of data and lawful
use of data;
Definition of analysis in the Europol framework;
- how the provisions of the Council Decision amend
the current rules and have the potential to change all of these
matters.
94 Architecture of Internal Security, Council Secretariat
document 9596/1/06 JAI 271, approved by the Justice and Home Affairs
Council of 1-2 June 2006. Back
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