Europol Drugs Unit: annual report 1996

Adopting the report by Mr Martin SCHULZ (PSE, D) on the annual report of the Europol Drugs Unit for 1996 in accordance with Article 52 of the EP Rules of Procedure, the European Parliament considered that the report does not in itself amount to a document that can be put to the European Parliament for democratic scrutiny or even provide it with proper information. It reiterated its previous requests relating to parliamentary scrutiny and the powers to be granted to the Court of Justice to issue preliminary rulings and urged the Council to draft forthwith a protocol to the Europol Convention taking account of these requests. It believes that the protocol on the privileges and immunities for Europol employees makes legal monitoring of the Europol extremely difficult. It also called on the Council to adopt the necessary measures enabling Europol to begin exercising its powers with regard to the fight against terrorism from 1 January 1999. It called on the Member States to suspend the plans to extend Europol's mandate, and to give priority to tasks such as exchanges of information and expertise, support for investigations and training in the areas of: - illicit drug trafficking; - clandestine immigration; - illicit vehicle trafficking; - money laundering; - the fight against terrorism. It invited the Member States and the bodies of Europol to prepare the forthcoming entry into force of the Europol Convention and called for adequate training measures to be conducted in the Member States and for improved knowledge of the EDU and its objectives. It also called for new instruments and equipment matching the level to which crime has developed to be made available to the police forces in the Member States. Finally, it called upon Member States to abandon their attitudes of resistance to the transfer to Europol of operational tasks of police coordination.�