EU Parliament committee urges stricter Europol monitoring

The European Parliament's civil liberties committee Thursday called for the creation of a joint parliamentary scrutiny group, comprising MEPs and members of national parliaments in the EU, to monitor activities of the European Police Office (Europol). The agency's top officials would be required to appear before the group on request to discuss matters related to Europol operations and its compliance with fundamental rights, in particular the protection of personal data, according to the text of a vote on new operating rules for Europol adopted today. Europol's annual activity reports, work programmes, and evaluations should also be disclosed to MEPs and national MPs, who must have access to all relevant documents, including classified information, says the committee. Europol should only be able to receive and process personal data held by other EU bodies, law enforcement authorities of non-EU countries, and international organisations if "it is strictly necessary and proportionate for the legitimate performance of its tasks". Also, the agency should only transfer personal data to those entities if it is necessary for preventing and combating crime and if the recipient gives an explicit undertaking that the data will only be used for the purpose for which it was transmitted, says the committee. Transfers of personal data to countries outside the EU and to international organisations would be governed by existing Europol cooperation agreements between the EU and third countries ensuring a proper level of data protection. The full Parliament will vote on the new rules for Europol end February. The European Police Office (Europol) was established in 1995. Europol's seat is located in The Hague (Netherlands).