While it is probably safe to assume that nearly all of us have heard of EUROPOL, few of us have any inkling of what actually exists behind the name. Who really knows what the 'Third Pillar' of European Union or anything about the significance of customs authorities? The expansion and establishment of international police co-operation in the European Union is by and large becoming reality behind the scenes. CILIP has undertaken to partially alleviate this situation by publishing some previously unpublished (and annotated) significant documents in its current issue.

The ‘Third Pillar’ of the European Union
by Heiner Busch

The 1991 Treaty of Maastricht on the European Union formally elevated domestic and legal policy co-operation to a matter of common interest to all of the member states. The informal co-operation between national governments which produced the TREVI agreement and other forums became a formal affair: The 'Third Pillar' of the union was established as an addition to existing formal agreements on the economic community and common foreign and defence policy. The ramifications of this treaty are considerable and include the creation of a number of new institutions and data communication and transferral systems, a common practice of sealing off of national borders and the creation of a bulwark against refugees of all sorts. Within the European Union this has led to the most extensive level of co-operation in the field of domestic security ever voluntarily agreed upon not as the result of conquest in the history of states.

Report on the Functional Mode of the Treaty of the European Union. Here: Appendix 15: Survey of Texts Adopted in the Fields of Justice and the Interior
(Selected Documents)

EUROPOL
by Heiner Busch

What during the 70's was nothing more than an unrealistic police dream has become reality since 1994. EUROPOL's European Drug Unit (EDU) commenced its work in the first step in the establishment of the ‘European Police Bureau – EUROPOL’. The signing of the EUROPOL Convention in July 1995 opened the doors to both conception and planning of the information system for the new agency and the preliminary formulation of its rules of implementation, despite the fact that ratification of the convention will require at least two to three additional years. The substance of the treaty guarantees that the data centre of Europe's new police force will be essentially protected from external control and review activities. The article surveys the genesis, aims and dangers of EUROPOL.

Europol – Drug Unit – Working Program for January - June 1996
(Selected Documents)

Technical Modernisation at Interpol
by Heiner Busch

Since the 70's Interpol has generally been rated by its western European member states as being technically antiquated. However, beginning with the transfer of its general secretariat from St. Cloud near Paris to Lyon in 1989 many changes have taken place. Modern lines of communication have been laid and constantly updated. In addition for the financially weaker member states unable to keep pace with the rapidly changing developments in computerisation, Interpol has the advantage of still being accessible via other communications channels. And despite all the cries to the contrary it is safe to predict that Interpol will hardly relinquish any of its significance for international police co-operation due to the establishment of EUROPOL.

Regulations on a Data Bank with Selected Data Directly Accessible to National Central Authorities at the Interpol General Secretariat
(A Documentation)

Customs Co-operation in Europe
by Heiner Busch

The expansion of the ‘Customs Detective Division’ (Zollkriminalamt) in the early 90's was one of the few instances in which the customs agencies in Germany became topics of public debate. The ‘Customs Investigatory Service’ (Zollfahndungsdienst) is at best perceived of as the police's "little brother", despite the fact that neither its authority and methods - and the resultant dangers for the preservation of civil rights – are rarely registered even by the most resolute critics of police activities in general. It is thus no surprise that the international co-operation of customs agencies continues to take place behind the scenes. This article is an attempt to correct this defect.

Accord with Regard to Article K.3 of the Treaty on the European Union Concerning the Implementation of Information Technology in the Field of Customs Control, dated July 26, 1995.
(Selected Documents)

Asylum Policy in the European Union
by Olaf Neußner

For persons seeking asylum or other refugees the fact that the Treaty of the European Union has gone into effect does not appear to have led to significant changes for efforts to gain protection against persecution, civil strife or other armed conflicts in countries within the union. The countries of the wealthiest union in the world continue their efforts to expand their common measures aimed at protecting them from any and all penetration by persons seeking asylum and/or other refugees. The article reviews the development and effects of the asylum policies of the European Union.

Decision on Minimal Guarantees for Asylum Proceedings on Asylum
(Selected Documentation)

Lethal Police Shootings in 1995
by Otto Diederichs

Last year 15 persons were fatally wounded as a consequence of police use of firearms. In two cases police officers were also fatally wounded, two others were wounded by arms fire. This means that the repeated rise in fatal shootings by the police is not the most significant feature of the year's statistic, but rather that the number of victims of fatalities who were also in possession of firearms is on the rise. Only one of the victims was unarmed. CILIP documents the individual cases and reviews an important court decision.