Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Representatives of EU Member States approved the Council's negotiating mandate on a regulation that strengthens Europol's role in supporting Member States in their fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The draft regulation changes the existing Europol regulation and strengthens Europol's mandate in order to more effectively support Member States in tackling these crimes, and introduces increased information-sharing requirements to improve cooperation at national and EU levels. Europol is the European Union agency that assists national law enforcement bodies in the fight against organized crime and terrorism. “Migrant smuggling is a billion-euro criminal enterprise at the expense of the weakest,” Anneliese Verlinden, Belgian Interior Minister, was quoted as saying by Europol. “We want to put an end to the smugglers and Europol can It plays an important role in this matter.
The main elements of a board position
Europol will be able to play a more important role in supporting Member States by processing biometric data to close blind spots that criminals seek to exploit by hiding behind false and multiple identities.
In order to regularize current practice, the EU agency is now expected, at the request of Member States, to deploy Europol staff or seconded national experts on the territory of Member States and in third countries to provide analytical, operational, technical and forensic analysis. supports. This operational support may take place, for example, in the context of border management.
In order to allow Europol to play its role in combating migrant smuggling and increase the exchange of information, law enforcement liaison officers in Member States could be linked to SIENA, Europol's secure communication platform for law enforcement authorities.
In order to ensure closer cooperation and better exchange of information between EU crime-fighting agencies, Frontex - the EU border agency - and Eurojust - the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation - will be invited to be permanent liaison officers of Europol for European migrants. Smuggling Center (EMSC).
Europol also intends to strengthen its support for the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), the EU's main instrument for combating serious and organized crime.
The Council also decided that Europol would receive additional financial and human resources to carry out its tasks.
Today's negotiating mandate will allow the Council to engage with the European Parliament to agree on a final legal text, once the Parliament decides its position.
On 28 November 2023, the European Commission proposed a new legislative package to prevent and combat migrant smuggling. In addition to the regulation to strengthen Europol's role – which member states reached agreement on today – the Commission has also proposed a criminal justice law to prevent and combat migrant smuggling.
According to Europol, more than 90% of illegal immigrants who arrive in the European Union benefit from the services of smugglers, and the United Nations estimates that smuggling networks generate profits ranging between 4.7 and 6 billion euros annually.