FECL 03 (January/February 1992):

THE BIRTH OF "EUROPOL"

A European police intelligence agency - provisionally known as Europol - is to be set up as a result of the Maastricht Union Treaty. The creation of the new body is proposed in the treaty document under the "Justice and Home affairs" articles, which attempt to provide a policy for security issues created by open borders.

The first phase will be the establishment of a European Drugs Intelligence Unit to start operations by the beginning of 1993.

The proposed body ultimately will gather and analyse information on cross-border crime, including offenses committed outside the EC.

Some observers have interpreted the proposal as a snub to Interpol, which has been described in the past as little more than a message switching organization.

Europol is expected to act as a reference point for all officers investigating serious international crime but will have no operational role, according to the agencies involved. It will be a unit of cooperation between police services of all 12 EC Member States.

The first targets of Europol will be drug smuggling and money laundering but its range of action will be steadily expanded to include other types of organized crime.

Some officials involved already call for a speedier judicial harmonization among the 12 as a precondition for Europol's efficiency.

There is strong competition with regard to the site of the new police unit.

Germany has proposed Wiesbaden, Italy offers Rome and France advocates Europol's "peaceful coexistence" with the "rival" Interpol in Lyon.