KENNY WELCOMES PUBLICATION OF EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE BILL

Posted on July 26, 2012 3:37 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Seán Kenny has welcomed the publication of the Bill that covers the establishing of the European Police Office Bill.

"Europol's activities can be broadly categorised as information management on the one hand and semi-operational tasks on the other. Europol interacts with member states through national units which each state must establish. The national unit in Ireland is a unit within the Garda Síochána.

"The primary purpose of the Bill is to implement into Irish law the EU Council Decision of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol). That Decision repeals and replaces the Europol Convention and Protocols which has been in force in Ireland through the Europol Act of 1997 as amended.

"While incorporating the provisions of the Convention and its Protocols, the Council Decision also introduces some new features to Europol. These new features include an extension to Europol's mandate. Organised crime was originally the sole focus of Europol's activities. The Council Decision removes the requirement that an organised criminal structure must be involved before Europol can act. It will be sufficient for the crime concerned to involve a serious offence affecting two or more European Union Member States that requires a joint approach by Member States.

"I welcome these changes to Europol as it makes it easier for Europol to become involved in serious crime within the European Union, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, money laundering, murder and kidnapping. We are all aware that crimes like this are becoming more prominent in society, and they need to be tacked. This new Bill will help to do that."