Europol

I noticed this hasn't been discussed here before.

EU has its own police force, Europol, which until recently wasn't really organised. In the last year or so, there has been a talk about giving more authority to this police force, connecting local police forces of EU members into one, with the goal to combat organised crime more efficiently.

Here are a few links:

www.europol.eu.int...

europa.eu.int...

www.bbc.co.uk...


As is it with all EU related stuff, some have expressed concerns that this is one more step in giving up sovereignity of nations and accepting more centralised EU authority.
Still, despite the protests, it is obvious that such police force is needed, now that we do not have borders between countries anymore.

What are your views on this, my fellow EU brothers?

[edit on 8-2-2005 by paperclip]

I suppose some of this is as inevitable as it is desirable, given the international nature of some crime.

It's maybe the same or similar as with the debate about a fully 'national' Police service within the UK itself.

I'm all for the flexibility and local knowledge etc etc a local county based service brings....right up until it runs into the very real problems that only a national organisation can tackle.

I dont know whether it is another “giving our sovereignity up” or not, but I agree at this point with sminkeypinkey: this is inevitable.

Adapt yourself to the ambient or die. Sometimes in the evolution the mutations can be painful at the beginning, but they are necessary. Europe is in her own process of evolution right now.

Since there are not borders for the just and normal people, there are not borders for the criminals. So there must not be borders for the police, and I would not like to see a national French police in Spain, as the French people would not like to have a Spanish national police in their country. But that would be far least traumatic for me to see a French member of the European Police in Spain, as I guess the French people would understand the presence of a Spanish member of the Europol in their country, when this is necessary.

Sharing also skills (for instance, the Brit and the Spanish police are the most experienced in Europe in terrorism issues, the Italians have a huge experience in organised crime) has not other consequences than benefices for the other European countries. The eastern polices have a lot of information about new eastern mafias, the French secret services are probably the most experienced in the World (no, it is not the CIA, the CIA is one thousand kilometers away from the Frenchies at this point) in dealing with Islamic extremism, etc, etc, etc.

I support a higher development of the Europol.