Research Papers

The European Union has responded to changing security threats by seeking to increase cooperation between Member States’ law enforcement agencies, granting further powers to Europol and other intelligence-sharing agencies and institutions, and by undertaking police missions beyond EU borders. The literature relating to EU policing is generally focused on the ‘internal’ or ‘external’ dimensions, or on specific aspects of police activity. This tendency to concentrate on narrow or isolated areas of policing has led to a significant gap regarding broader analysis of the EU as a comprehensive police actor. Important questions about the nature of EU policing as a whole, as well as the contribution of policing activities to the EU’s security agenda, remain unexplored in the literature. This paper presents a framework for assessing the EU as a comprehensive police actor based around the criteria of crime fighting, order maintenance, and service. The case of Europol is then examined: since Europol became a formal EU agency in 2009, EU institutions, particularly the European Parliament, have gained further control over its activities and budget. This has led to Europol being given increased powers relating to counter terrorism and combating organised crime. This paper then asks the following two questions: firstly, with a focus on the changing role of Europol in relation to EU institutions, to what extent is the EU active in the policing area of crime fighting? Secondly, what is the contribution of these policing activities to the EU's security agenda?