Format: lecture & seminar

Enhanced (operational) police cooperation between member state authorities became the answer to the possibility for criminals to actively abuse their right to move freely in the EU, and in the Schengen area in particular. This lecture provides an overview of EU measures concerning crime prevention, the collection and exchange of data related to policing, various forms of cross-border policing and the tasks and operation of EU’s ‘law enforcement’ agency, Europol. 

Question for a short position paper and subsequent in-class discussion (question is based on reading): Are there any chances for an operational role of Europol? Substantiate your answer and describe the role and tasks of Europol, and their limitations.

Reading:

-          Agathe Piquet 2017 , ‘Supranational activism and intergovernmental dynamics: the European Police Office as a supranationalist opportunist?’, Journal of Contemporary European Research, 2017, 13 (2), pp. 1185-1207.

-          Gorazd Meško, ‘Police Cooperation in the European Union, Supported by Strengthening the EU Internal Security’s External Dimension’, European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 2017, Vol. 25/2, pp.109-121.

-          Tom Schalken and Maarten Pronk, ‘On Joint Investigation Teams, Europol and Supervision of Their Joint Actions’ , European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 2002, Vol. 10/1, pp. 70–82.