Europol

Europol's main objective is to improve the effectiveness and cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the EU member states. To achieve this, Europol facilitates the exchange of information and intelligence, provides analytical support, and offers specialized training and expertise. Some of the key areas of focus for Europol include drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, and counter-terrorism.


The Agency has no executive powers, and its officials are not entitled to arrest suspects, conduct independent investigations, or act without prior approval from competent authorities in the member states as Europol's role is to support and facilitate the efforts of national law enforcement agencies within the EU.

Governance, accountability and relations[edit]

The Europol Directorate, day-to-day leadership of the Agency, is appointed by the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) for four-year terms. As of 2018, the agency is headed by executive director Catherine De Bolle. The Agency is accountable to and controlled by the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Together with the European Parliament, the Council approves Europol's budget and regulations related to its work. The Council forwards an annual special report to the European Parliament on the work of the Agency — and the Parliament also discharges Europol from its responsibility for managing a set budget. Before 2009, the Agency was an international body and thus the European Parliament lacked effective scrutiny powers over it. From 2009 to 2017, the European Parliament had been the sole organ in parliamentary control of Europol. The Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) was created at the EU Speakers Conference in Bratislava on 23–25 April 2017 to allow both the European Parliament and national EU parliaments to exert control over Europol.^{[50][51][52][40]}


The Europol Management Board comprises representatives from all of the Member States and from the European Commission, each having one vote. Decisions of the Board require a supermajority and it meets at least twice per year on Europol's current and future activities as well as on adopting the budget, programming material and general annual reports. The board forwards its decisions to the Justice and Home Affairs Council for perusal. The Management Board functions include data protection, internal audit and accountancy.^[52][40][42]


External financial oversight of the Agency is conducted by the European Court of Auditors (ECA); for example, ECA evaluated Europol in 2017 on anti-radicalisation programmes.^[53] Internal control is carried out by the Internal Audit Service of the European Commission as well as by the Europol Management Board-appointed Internal Audit Function. The European Ombudsman is tasked with investigating complaints against EU institutions and bodies, including Europol, as well as assisting to create a more transparent, effective, accountable and ethical administration.^[52] As of 1 May 2017, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has been responsible for supervising the agency's data protection measures.^[54]


The Director of Europol is able to enter into agreements for Europol with other countries and international organizations. As of September 2017, Europol co-operates on an operational basis with Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, Colombia, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, and Interpol.^{[28][55][56][57]} Similarly, the Agency has strategic agreements with Armenia, Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and World Customs Organization (WCO).^{[58][57][59][60]}