Future of Europol

Is Europol becoming a European FBI?

There has been a great deal of speculation as to the possibility of Europol becoming a European version of the FBI. For the most part, such assertions are restricted to the periphery of the discipline, but are becoming more common. It is no longer the folly of anarchists and opponents to European integration, who often rely heavily on circumstantial evidence and conjecture without much empirical support for their claims, but now respected academics that are calling for this to happen too. Dr Willy Bruggeman, the Deputy Director of Europol, however, discounts the possibility that his organisation is somehow subject to an inevitable transformation process[1]. He supports this view with a categorical denial of such plans, “Europol is NOT an FBI and not intended to become a comparable instrument of the EU”[2].

Certainly, a number of obstacles would need to be overcome in order for this to take place: Europol’s present structure based on intergovernmental co-operation would have to be replaced with a supra-nationalist framework.  

·        Massive movement in the political and legal landscape would be required, as any move towards a FBI would require a publicly endorsed mandate or at least a greater role for the European Parliament in an oversight role.

·        The powers of Europol would need to be massively expanded, to include in the first instance, powers of arrest.  

·        Political obstacles such as national sovereignty and Euro-scepticism would have to be overcome, both within the UK and within other Member States.

·        Problems with data security and respect for civil liberties would need to have been addressed and resolved and mechanisms to ensure transparency put in place

·        Creation of a European FBI would the of a European Criminal Court and a EU-wide Criminal Code in addition

Equally, there are a number of advantages in creating a European FBI from Europol:

·        Europol has had the necessary exposure and image to have public confidence built around it (although I hope that this would involve a new logo)

·        A number of connections already exist between Europol and Member States as well as non-EU members such as the USA and Russia.

·        Europol has an operational base and good levels of expertise in its staff and already operates a Europe-wide database, The Europol Computer System

·        Europol wants to extend its mandate to make it a larger player in the fight against trans-national crime; creation of a European FBI would serve its interests therefore.

The development of Europol has been predicated upon ideas of intergovernmentalism, and those associated with European police co-operation seem intent to retain this structure. Moreover, any move towards the formation of a European FBI would require a serious overhaul of the way in which police co-operation is undertaken in Europe as well as changes in the legal systems of the Union and of Member States. As Tupman notes, without a major event to mobilise the European peoples and politicians it seems unlikely that this could be achieved[3].

Whatever the merits of a European FBI it seems that Europe is unwilling to stomach its development at present. There is, however, an emerging consensus as to the need to enhance Europol’s powers if it is to build upon existing police co-operation and further consolidate effort in the fight against trans-national crime. There are a number of prescriptions to strengthen Europol that can be made, that fall short of the creation of a European FBI:   

·         Strengthening co-operation between the various European information systems, such as the Customs Information Service (CIS) and the Schengen Information System (SIS).

·         Co-operating with UCLAF, the body responsible for preventing fraud against the community budget, although this would need to overcome problems of co-operating between the First community Pillar and the Third Pillar.

·         Concentration on the fight against illicit immigration networks, but not as far as the European police force to combat illegal immigration as called for by Italian Interior Minister Enzo Bianco[4].

·         Extension of Europol’s operational powers to include fully realising the prospect of operating ‘Joint Investigative Teams’.

·         A greater harmonisation of national legislation, especially those relating to terrorism, financial crime, organised crime and immigration.

Europol needs to become more open in order to receive more powers and duties in the New Europe

It is the opinion of this author that Europol is not likely in the short term to begin the process of transformation into a European FBI. However, as has been illustrated in the past in matters of European integration, this does not exclude the possibility that this may not happen in the future. Indeed, if one looks at Europol through a Neo-functionalist lens it becomes apparent that once one area of law enforcement is integrated then others around it will follow. Indeed, following co-operation in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs at the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties we can now observe the growing trend towards the creation of a common European public prosecutor, Eurojust, and the creation of common procedures on immigration. If Europol’s powers are extended, as outline above, then it seems likely that in the future it will request further powers in order to achieve its mandates.

In the case of Europol, however, its intergovernmental character and set upper limits on its powers and duties will most likely serve to insulate it from the effects of the spillover effect at least in the immediate future. If the EU does push ahead with plans to create a European Judicial Area, then Neo-Functionalism suggests that a European Police Force may be required to police the enlarged European space. Tupman notes that this process is already taking place with plans to create a ‘European Judicial Space’, so that all the territory of the EU would constitute a single area for the purposes of prosecuting fraud against the Community budget”[5]. If this is the case then there will inevitably be a further intensification of the role of UCLAF and of Europol. Before any such move takes place, however, the areas of jurisdiction of these two bodies will have to be resolved, as at present both have over-lapping responsibilities in the field of fraud against the Community budget[6].

Indeed, rather than suggesting that a European FBI will be created through Europol, it seems far more likely that this will take place through UCLAF[7]. The arguments in favour of such a view are quite strong. As raised by Tupman and Bruggeman, Europol is subject to fifteen masters while UCLAF serves only one, the European Commission. 

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