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ABSTRACT
In battling organized crime and terrorism, the sharing of intelligence is of crucial importance. This is especially true in Europe, where suspects can easily travel between the different ‘Schengen’ jurisdictions, which allows free movement of persons. It is crucial for EU member states to pool resources and share intelligence if they want to gain the upper hand in crime-fighting and counter-terrorism operations.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of intelligence and the fact that being secretive is a tool of the trade, sharing does not come naturally to policing and intelligence agencies, especially not with foreign partners. However, there is a need to re-envision the relationships of these agencies with their foreign counterparts vis-à-vis intelligence sharing. This article will shed light on how cross-border intelligence sharing is currently undertaken by focusing on international police cooperation in the EU. By identifying the practices that have shaped the 2018 Benelux police cooperation treaty, this article will demonstrate how the EU can strengthen its intelligence-sharing mechanisms. In doing so, it aims to highlight the obstacles to overcome in order to level the playing field between criminals and terrorists on the one hand and policing and intelligence agencies on the other.
RESUMEN
En la lucha contra el crimen organizado y el terrorismo, el intercambio de inteligencia es de crucial importancia. Esto es especialmente cierto en Europa, donde los sospechosos pueden viajar fácilmente entre las diferentes jurisdicciones “Schengen”, que permite la libre circulación de personas. Es crucial que los estados miembros de la UE junten recursos y compartan inteligencia si quieren ganar ventaja en la lucha contra el crimen y en las operaciones antiterroristas. Debido a la naturaleza altamente sensible de la inteligencia y al hecho de que el secreto es una herramienta del oficio, compartir no es algo natural para las agencias de policía e inteligencia, especialmente no con socios extranjeros. Sin embargo, es necesario re-imaginar las relaciones de estas agencias con sus contrapartes extranjeras con respecto a compartir inteligencia. Este artículo arrojará luz sobre cómo se comparte actualmente la inteligencia transfronteriza centrándose en la cooperación policial internacional en la UE. Al identificar las prácticas que han dado forma al tratado de cooperación policial del Benelux 2018, este artículo demostrará cómo la UE puede fortalecer sus mecanismos de intercambio de inteligencia. Al hacerlo, su objetivo es resaltar los obstáculos a superar para nivelar el campo de juego entre delincuentes y terroristas, por un lado, y las agencias de policía e inteligencia, por el otro.
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Notes
1. For a detailed discussion on the various models of the intelligence process see Phythian (Citation2014).
2. The report will hereinafter be referenced as the 9/11 Report.
3. Known as the Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on police cooperation, signed on 23 July 2018 in Brussels, Belgium, not yet ratified at the time of writing. The treaty will hereinafter be referred to as the Benelux police cooperation treaty.
4. TheTreaty of Senningen was signed in 2004 and entered into force in 2006 once it was ratified by all parliaments.
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Agnes E. Venema
Agnes E. Venema Is a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher on the European Joint Doctorate Grant “Evolving Security SciencE through Networked Technologies, Information Policy and Law” (ESSENTIAL). Her research area is Intelligence and National Security, and specifically focuses on the intersection between Intelligence, Technology, and Law. Her main institution is the “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy in Bucharest, Romania. As part of her doctoral studies, Agnes Venema guest lectured at the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences (FSPAC) of the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and presented her research internationally. Furthermore, she supported research for various projects at the “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy, including for the Security in the Black Sea Region (SBSR) initiative, for a Hybrid Threats project, and for the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE-Europe) 2019 conference, where she also served as a panel chair. Prior to moving to Romania, Agnes Venema worked on various issues related to international security, at the University of Essex and for various NGOs. She also worked on Security Sector Reform at the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) and participated in election monitoring for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).