Europol convention: protocol amending the European Police Office. Initiative Belgium and Spain

The committee adopted the report by Gérard DEPREZ (EPP-ED, B) rejecting the Belgian and Spanish initiative under the consultation procedure. The report argued that the assignment of operational powers to Europol should be accompanied by genuine democratic scrutiny. Also, the proposed amendment of the Europol Convention would maintain Europol within the sphere of simple intergovernmental cooperation, which could lead to an excessively slow decision-making procedure after enlargement. Moreover, Parliament would continue to play only a marginal role. The committee instead recommended replacing the Convention with a Council decision, thus integrating Europol into the third pillar. �