Europol, Quo Vadis? Critical Analysis and Evaluation of the Development of the European Police Office

Based in The Hague, the European Police Office (Europol) is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU) that handles criminal intelligence. It supports the law enforcement agencies of EU Member States in their fight against international serious crime and terrorism. This publication is the result of a doctoral thesis, which offers a critical analysis and evaluation of the past, present and future development of Europol. The establishment of Europol was in essence a political decision and to a large extent the agency has remained a political construct. Every political decision represents choices embodying the development of Europol. Choices also have to be made in the legal translation of policy decisions. In her doctoral thesis Alexandra De Moor traces these choices, as they are materialised in legal and policy documents, and makes them subject of analysis and evaluation. The research model she develops for this purpose consists of eras (the pre-Convention, Convention and post-Convention era), clusters (legal basis, objective, competence, tasks, governance and control) and criteria (necessity, consistency, balance and transparency). The three-dimensional model is perfectly suited for a doctoral thesis based on a compilation of peer-reviewed publications (seven in total). This booklet presents the main conclusions, as well as the policy epilogue. Europol, Quo Vadis? reads like a ‘Bildungsroman’, a coming of age story with lots of ups and downs, and a story with an open ending, as the identity of Europol is still under debate today. The preparations of the new Europol Regulation (after 2013) have started under Danish Presidency (first half of 2012). De Moor wants to fuel the debate on the future of Europol by signaling key concerns and providing useful recommendations. She doubts whether a European Police Office with operational-executive powers (modeled after the FBI) should by definition be the terminus of the development of Europol. Uit de inhoud: