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EU: Europol underway

01 July 1995

The Green Group in the European Parliament organised a conference on "Europol" in Brussels on 3 July. The Director of the Europol Drugs Unit, Jurgen Storbeck, told a conference that as the Europol Convention had now been agreed: "All the plans and computer work can now get underway as we will need years to get data processing going". The fact that on 3 July it had not been signed (it was finally signed on 26 July) was a minor point. What is extraordinary about Mr Storbeck's statement is the assumption that prior to the ratification of the Convention by the 15 national parliaments money and labour can legitimately be spent on setting up Europol. The Convention states that it does not enter into force until three months after the last country has ratified it - which may well be two to three years. However, in the same Article, in a clause added in November 1994, it says that: "Once the Convention has been signed, Member states, acting either individually or in common, shall take all preparatory measures under their national law which are relevant to the commencement of Europol activities". If this clause is being used to set up and spend money on Europol prior to ratification procedures being completed it further undermines the limited role of national parliaments - who are asked to agree the Convention without any amendments. It is analogous to the Cabinet of a national government agreeing to a new Bill (law) and, while its parliament is debating whether or not to pass it, creating the body the Bill is intended to authorise. Claudia Roth MEP, the leader of the Green group in the European Parliament, told the conference: "With their unconditional yes to Europol the Ministers are shrugging off the concerns of defenders of personal data privacy and citizens rights while not so much as providing the citizens of the EU with the protection of their basic rights. After all, democratic controls, unified legal standards, citizens' rights and data privacy would only get in the way of the smooth functioning of the security apparatus".