IRISH OFFICIALS yesterday joined calls for greater communication between police forces in Europe at a meeting of Europol.
A worrying communication gap between local police forces and other crime-fighting bodies throughout the European Union and Europol is hampering the sharing of potentially vital intelligence on cross-border crime, it was stated at the meeting
Ireland’s representative, Seán Aylward, secretary general of the Department of Justice, said “knowledge is power and we must build up the power and potential of Europol’s communications process”.
He apologised for the absence of Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, who was involved in the Lisbon referendum campaign. Mr Aylward said later he “urged . . . that we renew our collective commitment to enhancing the two-way information flow between Europol and police and other law-enforcement authorities.”
A new crime-fighting pact between Europol and Eurojust, the two leading EU agencies on the frontline of the fight against terrorism, providing a more integrated service for the investigation and prosecution of the most dangerous networks was signed after a day of talks.
A second agreement between Europol and Frontex (the EU agency that manages EU borders) promised increased capabilities for mounting joint operations at external border points, particularly borders leading into Asia and Africa.
Sweden’s justice minister Beatrice Ask, who chaired the meeting of ministers of interior and justice, said that in spite of the agreements and resources devoted to cross-border crime, “Europol is not being used enough”.