Police cooperation: establishment of the European Police College CEPOL. Initiative Portugal

PURPOSE : to establish a European Police College (CEPOL). COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Decision (2000/820/JHA) establising a European Police College. CONTENT : at its meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, the European Council agreed that a European Police College should be established to train senior officers of police forces, such forces being understood to mean law enforcement officials. This Decision provides for the establisment of the CEPOL. The governing board shall set up a permanent secretariat to assist CEPOL with the administrative tasks necessary for it to function and implement the annual programme and where appropriate, additional programmes and initiatives. CEPOL's budget shall be managed by the secretariat on the basis of a financial regulation. The costs of implementing the measures in the annual programmes shall be borne jointly by the Member States. The aim of CEPOL shall be to help train the senior police officers of the Member States by optimising cooperation between CEPOL's various component institutes. CEPOL's objectives shall be as follows: - to increase knowledge of the national police systems and structures of other Member States, of Europol and of cross-border police cooperation with the EU; - to strengthen knowledge of international instruments, in particular those which already exist at EU level in the field of cooperation and on combatting crime; - to provide appropriate training with regard to respect for democratic safeguards with particular reference to the rights of defence; - to encourage cooperation between CEPOL and other police training institutes. In addition, CEPOL may cooperate with the national police training institutes of non-member States of the EU. In particular, it shall establish relations with the national institutes of applicant countries with which the EU is conducting accession negotiations as well as those of Iceland and Norway. CEPOL shall also cooperate with relevant training bodies in Europe, such as the Nordic Baltic Police Academy (NBPA) and the Mittleleuropäische Polizeiakademie (MEPA). At the lastest during the third year after this decision takes effect, the governing board shall submit to the Council a report on the operation and future of the network. ENTRY INTO FORCE : the Decision shall take effect from 23.12.2000 and it shall apply from 01.01.2001.�