Policing and Accountability in a Dynamic European Context

Abstract

European policing is undergoing several transformations which are influenced by the European unification process, shifts in national sovereignty, the exponential growth in international law instruments, the emergence of a universal jurisdiction, and the increased employment of covert investigation techniques. At the organisational level of law enforcement, new actors have emerged at strategic and executive level, which gives rise to competition and fragmented monitoring systems. Police accountability has thus far mainly been organised on a national level, and the recent changes in the international context require a translation of accountability system into international standards. This article provides an overview of current accountability mechanisms which apply to Europol. These principally concern supervision by its Management Board, data protection provisions and the system of national and European parliamentary control. Particularly the European Parliament has called for a more extensive democratic and judicial control, and recommends an institutionalised and regular information exchange between the European Parliament and the national parliaments. A future accountability regime should be structural, solid and applicable to intergovernmental as well as supranational law enforcement agencies that are active within the European Union, such as OLAF and Eurojust.

Keywords:

• Europe
• Europol
• Policing
• Accountability
• Parliaments