EU: New powers for Europol: Council overview of "thematic blocks for discussion"
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22 February 2021
A document circulated to national delegations in the Council of the EU shows how the Council intends to divide up its discussions on proposals to reinforce the powers of EU policing agency Europol.
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See: Overview of thematic blocks for discussion (5397/21, LIMITE, 19 January 2021, pdf)
The proposals to give new powers to Europol were published in December by the European Commission, and the European Parliament and the Council of the EU are starting discussions to work out their negotiating positions.
The European Parliament's civil liberties committee will hold its first exchange of views this Wednesday afternoon, and discussions in the Council have already begun - on 25 January, the first, second and third "blocks" listed below were discussed by the Council's Law Enforcement Working Party (LEWP).
The "thematic blocks for discussion" are:
- Block 1: enabling Europol to cooperate effectively with private parties
- Block 2: enabling Europol to process large and complex datasets
- Block 3: strengthening Europol’s role on research and innovation
- Block 4: enabling Europol to enter data into the Schengen Information System
- Block 5: strengthening Europol’s cooperation with third countries
- Block 6: strengthening Europol’s cooperation with the EPPO
- Block 7: clarifying that Europol may request the initiation of an investigation of a crime affecting a common interest covered by a Union policy
- Block 8: strengthening the data protection framework applicable to Europol
- Block 9: other provisions
Find out more about the proposals to give Europol more powers in the Statewatch Database
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