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European police cooperation

01 January 1994

A further glimpse into the extent of cooperation between European police forces is given in a written answer from Belgian Interior Minister Tobback to Green MP Van Dienderen. This gives details of 63 meetings, conferences and seminars attended by Belgian police, anti-terrorist units and the internal security service during the period 1990-1993. It includes Belgian participation in international training courses organized by Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Squad, the University of Surrey, the EEC's Council of Ministers, NATO and the FBI amongst others.

These meetings are in addition to 1) attendance at the working parties of the Trevi group and the Ad Hoc Group on Immigration (both of these groups have now been taken over the K4 Committee and its new steering groups, see Statewatch vol 3 no 6, and Europe section in this issue for the meetings held during 1993); 2) all the continuing ad hoc groups - the Police Working Group on Terrorism (PWGOT), the Vienna Group, the Berne Club, and the Star Group (see the handbook Statewatching the new Europe on their activities).

The Belgian participants were drawn from the Gendarmerie's Bureau Central des Recherches and Operations Division, the anti- terrorist Special Intervention Squad and its umbrella coordination unit Groupe Interforce Antiterrorisme (GIA), the civilian internal security service S–ret de l'Etat, and the military intelligence and security agency, the Service de Documentation de Renseignement et d'Action (SDRA).

The training courses include: one in Madrid on anti-terrorist intelligence and a case study of the dismantling of ETA; the Police Staff College at Bramshill, UK put on five-month Senior Command Courses, attended by Belgian Gendarmerie members in 1990 and 1992; ten-week courses to train officers for international police cooperation at the FBI's National Academy; a fortnight course for hostage & kidnap negotiators at the FBI National Academy in September 1991; and training for drivers of bullet- proof vehicles given by Mercedes for members of the Belgian Royal Protection Squad and Special Intervention Squad in August 1991 and September 1992.